J LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 



!«• |°iww fo. t 

j UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. | 



PRACTICAL 



Trout Culture. 



. H. 



J. H; SLACK, M.D., 

Commissioner op Fisheries, N. J. ; Natural History Editor op " Turp, 
Field, and Farm," N. Y. ; Proprietor op Troctdale Ponds, 

NEAR BlOOMSBURY, N. J. 



I 



" We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen.'' 






NEW YORK: 
GEO. E. WOODWARD. 



ORANGE JUDD & CO 

245 BROADWAY. 

1872. 



n 

v. 



h/;fe7 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, 

By J. H. SLACK, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress in Washington. 



John Kent, 

Stereotyper and Electrotyper, 

13 Frankfort St., N. Y. 



TO 

SETH GREEN, 

AND HIS WORTHY COLLEAGUE, 

-A-. S. COLLINS, 

OF MUMFOBD, K. Y., 

THIS WORK 

IS MOST RESPECTFULLY 

DEDICATED 

BT 

THEIR DISCIPLE AND FRIEND, 

THE AUTHOR. 



INTRODUCTION. 



" Therefore, honorable and worthy countrymen, let not the mean- 
ness of the word fish distaste you, for it will afford as good gold as the 
mines of Guiana or Potosi, with less hazard and charge, and more cer-> 
tainty and facility." — Smith's Hist, of Virginia. London, 1624; page 248, 

These words of the original John Smith, written some two 
hundred years since, were prophetic. Spite of the sneers and 
scorn of the ignorant, to which few have been more exposed than 
ourselves, and spite of the wails of would-be pisciculturists, who, 
dazzled by the imaginary balance-sheets of hypothetical trout 
farms, have rushed ignorantly into fish-farming and become dis- 
gusted that the mines of Guiana or Potosi were not at once 
opened to them, fish culture, in the hands of able and perse- 
vering individuals, has proven to be a thorough and complete 
success. That many have failed, there is no doubt ; but com- 
pared to the number of those whose fortunes have been wrecked, 
if not upon the mines of Guiana and Potosi, upon other equally 
unprofitable investments, the number is few indeed. Fish cul- 
ture, like farming, is a branch of industry which, strange to 
say, is generally though erroneously supposed to require little 
or no study. "We have known numbers of cases in which large 
sums of money have been invested in fish culture by tyros, whose 
only knowledge had been gained from a few articles in the 
columns of a newspaper, or from the only original American 

(5) 



VI INTRODUCTION. 

work then written upon the subject. The result of book-farm- 
ing is proverbial ; that of book fish-farming is equally disas- 
trous. Yet far be it from us, especially at the commencement 
of a treatise upon the subject, to ignore the value of technical 
works; they are much, but not all ; and the preparation of the 
reader for their full comprehension is only to be obtained -at 
the pond side and in the hatching-house, where, and where 
alone, the thousand minutiae of the work of the fish-farmer can 
be observed and thoroughly learned. 

In the following pages we hope to present to our readers, as 
far as can be presented in a volume, the theory and practice of 
fish culture — the theory as we understand it, and the practice 
as we have performed it at our fish farm near Bloomsbury, N. J. 
This farm was purchased by us in August, 1867, of Mr. Thad- 
deus Norris, a gentleman well-known both as an author and 
angler. The place was in an unfinished condition, but one pond 
had been erected and stocked with a few hundred sickly fishes. 
At first, our undertaking was anything but prosperous. Our 
stock fishes died by dozens; our spawn, from want of proper 
knowledge of the theory of impregnation, and the sickly con- 
dition of our parent fishes, perished by thousands. . Musk rats 
bored their way through our improperly-constructed banks; a 
flood carried away thousands from our badly-located hatching 
house, and, finally, during our absence from home, some kind in- 
dividuals relieved us of a large number of our finest fishes. 

Far, however, from being discouraged at this multiplicity of 
misfortunes, we at once set ourselves to work after each new dis- 
aster to ascertain its cause and prevent its recurrence, and we 
are happy to state that we have met with no repetition of any 
of these evils. Our undertaking has for two years past been in 
every respect a perfect success ; and we have now on hand at 
least thirty thousand trout, from three to eighteen inches in 



INTRODUCTION. Vll 

length, all raised from spawn impregnated by ourselves. In 
every case our misfortunes could be traced to our own ignorance 
or neglect. For the latter we can offer no excuse ; for the 
former we can only plead the great want of facilities for instruc- 
tion which then existed. Thus far, but two original works* on 
fish culture have appeared in America, and both were issued 
subsequent to our entering upon the business. These works, 
written as they are by two of our most renowned fish culturists, 
should have a place in the library of every lover or practitioner 
of the art. Yet, as a practical man, we feel that many points 
of the greatest importance are in them but casually mentioned ; 
and since their publication many new facts have appeared and 
new theories been advanced, beside the invention of labor-sav- 
ing apparatus, which we think will render a new work upon the 
subject not unwelcome to the fish-breeding fraternity. 

Though every care has been taken in the preparation of this 
work, we can not flatter ourselves that it is perfect. New theo- 
ries will often be accepted, rendering the old baseless or even 
ridiculous. New inventions may be made by which the manual 
labor required will be still more simplified, though the Collins' 
spawning race, by which spawn may be taken without wetting 
the hands of the operator, seems to us the ne plus ultra of labor 
and health saving apparatus. Much has already been done, but 
the science is still in its infancy ; doubtless much remains to be 
discovered and invented, as " let well enough alone " is a maxim 
not to be obeyed by the fish-breeder. All science is progressive, 
and fish culture must not be expected to be an exception to 
the rule. 

♦Norris' " American Fish Culture," Philadelphia, 1868; Green's "Trout Cul- 
ture," Rochester, 1870. 



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X TABLE OP CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAP. VI. — Artificial Impregnation. — Males and Fe- 
males — How Distinguished — Capture of Ripe Fishes- 
Impregnating Pans — Manipulation — Theory of Impreg- 
nation — M. Vrasski's Experiments — Causes of Failure — 
Remedy 76 

CHAP. VII. — Incubation. — Cautions — Barren Females — 
Removal of Unimpregnated Spawn — Pincers, Pipettes, 
and Scoop — Objections — Bulb-Syringe — The Byssus a 
Bugbear — Charred Troughs — Substitute — Rats and Mice 
— Poisoned Candles — Development of Fish in Egg — Med- 
dlesome Midwifery — Removal of Youug to Nursery — 
Precautions Necessary 87 

CHAP. VIII. — Care of Young in Nursery. — Young when 
First Hatched — Care Necessary — Young Four Weeks 
Old — Food — Curd — Yolk of Egg — Objections — Heart or 
Kidney — Preparation and Method of Feeding — Epidem- 
ics — Time of Removal — Patents — A. P. A 99 

CHAP. IX. — First Year. — Preparation of Pond— Removal 
Nets — Advantages of Aquatic Plants— Feeding Maggots, 
and the Maggotometer — Nail Keg Arrangement 110 

CHAP. X. — Second and Third Years. — Food: Curd — 
Heart — Lights — Cutting Apparatus— Advantages — Killey 
Fishes — Fish Entrails — Diseases — Size Attained — Fish 
Stories 123 

CHAP. XI. — Transportation.— Packing Spawn — Moss- 
Sponge— Dangers in Transitu — Transporting Adults- 
Transit Tank— Its Achievements— Condensed Air 130 

CHAP. XII.— Bibliography of Fish Culture 142 



PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 



CHAPTER I. 



HISTORY OF FISH CULTURE. 

It is a fact well known that fish-hatching has 
been carried on by the Chinese from the earliest 
periods of the world' s history, their oldest writers 
mentioning the fact, and it is stated by savans 
that in the works of Fo-hi, who flourished, accord- 
ing to the computation of the best authorities, 
2,100 B.C., mention is made of laws regulating the 
time at which fish spawn should be taken. The 
earliest European notice of Chinese pisciculture 
we have met with, is that of Father Duhalde, a 
Jesuit missionary, who, in 1735, published at 
Paris a history of the Chinese Empire, in which 
he states that, "At a certain season of the year 
an immense number of merchants resort to the 
banks of the Yang-tse-kiang for the purpose of 
purchasing fish spawn. In the month of May 
the country people place across the current of the 
river, mats and hurdles extending for a distance 



c /; 7 



12 PEACTICAL TEOUT CULTUKE. 

of nine or ten leagues, leaving only an opening 
sufficiently wide for the passage of vessels. The 
fish -spawn, in its passage down the river, is 
caught upon these hurdles ; it is removed, placed 
in vessels of water, and sold at once to the mer- 
chants who transport it to various parts of the 
Empire." This statement is corroborated by the 
testimony of modern travelers, who speak of im- 
pregnated spawn as a regular article of commerce. 
The eggs thus obtained are in precisely the same 
condition as those taken by the Ainsworth or 
Collins spawning race, being naturally impreg- 
nated ; and, strange to say, this naturally -impreg- 
nated trout spawn is now sold at prices much 
higher than that taken by hand, though in our 
experience the proportion of properly impreg- 
nated eggs is much greater by the latter process. 
The enormous piscines of the Romans, both under 
£he Republic and the Empire, as well as the ac- 
counts which have been transmitted to us of the 
enormous prices paid for their contents (in one 
case, that of Lucullus, four million sesterces, 
$160,000, having been obtained), show that fish 
culture, if not fish breeding, had at that period 
attained gigantic proportions. "We have full and 
accurate accounts of the huge piscines, and their 
voracious inhabitants, to whom even the flesh of 
a well-fattened slave came not amiss ; and it is 



HISTOEY OF FISH CULTUEE. 13 

more than probable that had artificial means been 
resorted to for the impregnation and hatching of 
the ova, some account of it would have been 
transmitted to us. 

The numerous fasts' imposed upon the monks 
during the middle ages by the Roman Catholic 
Church, rendered an ample supply of fish food 
an article of paramount importance to the mo- 
nastic fraternity ; and to them we would natur- 
ally look for any improvement in the art of fish 
culture. While hunting among the musty arch- 
ives of the Abbey of Reome, Baron Mongaudry 
accidentally discovered that a monk of that relig- 
ious establishment, yclept Dom Pinchon, during 
the fourteenth century, practiced a method of 
hatching, at least similar to that still pursued in 
some of our largest trout farms. How the rever- 
end father obtained his spawn is unfortunately 
not recorded ; but obtain them he did, and no 
doubt received the blessing of his confreres for 
the welcome additions to their larder. To Dom 
Pinchon must be ascribed the honor of the inven- 
tion of the first hatching-box. 

In 1761, C. F. Lund, of Iinkoeping, Sweden, 
having noticed the spawning of fishes in Lake 
Koken, prepared a large, wide, shallow box, in 
which, the bottom being covered with brush, he 
placed male and female carp during the spawning 



14 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

season. As soon as the spawn was deposited, the 
parents were removed and the eggs protected from 
the attacks of enemies. This process is still prac- 
ticed with success in various portions of the Con- 
tinent. In 1752, Spallanzani, the eminent Italian 
naturalist, performed for the first time the opera- 
tion of artificial impregnation, not with fishes, but 
with the frog ; yet the fact was established, and 
it was not long ere practical benefit was derived 
from it. To Lieut, (afterward Major) G. L. Ja- 
cobi, of Hollenhausen, must be given the credit 
of first introducing, if not discovering, the pro- 
cess of artificial impregnation of the eggs of fishes. 
The results of his experiments, which were pre- 
eminently successful, were published in 1763 in 
the Hanover Magazine, a local periodical with 
but a small circulation, and for a few years ex- 
cited no attention ; but by its translation into 
Latin by Goldstein, and French by Duhamel du 
Monceau, in 1773 it was brought to the notice of 
the scientific world. Jacobi's account of his 
method forcibly recalls to mind the pictures of a 
poor, tortured salmon being held up by^ a hand 
to which no body is attached, her eggs falling in a 
graceful curve into a pan of water beneath, which 
were wont to ornament the covers of 'the numerous 
French pamphlets on pisciculture. Jacobi says : 
"Place in a clean vessel about a pint of pure 



HISTOEY OF FISH CULTUKE. 15 

water ; seize the salmon by the head, and hold 
her over it ; if the eggs have arrived at maturity 
they will fall out of her of their own accord ; if 
not, press lightly on the belly with the palm of 
the hand, the eggs will then detach themselves 
and fall easily into the water. Perform the same 
operation on a male salmon, and when there is 
enough milt upon the eggs to whiten the surface 
of the water, the fecundation of the eggs will be 
accomplished." His hatching-trough was similar, 
strange to say, to that of Dom Pinchon. Full 
directions are given for the removal of dead 
spawn, and the care required by the living. His 
is the first work upon pisciculture as a science. 
Under the care of Lieut. Jacobi, fish farms were 
established at Nortelem, Hanover, and Hohenhau- 
sen, and the fish produced became an important 
article of commerce ; it is stated that the Queen 
of England bestowed a handsome pecuniary re- 
ward upon their founder. 

The next aspirant for piscicultural honors is 
an American school-boy. The late Rev. John 
Bachman, D.D., of Charleston, S. C, claimed, in 
a paper read before the State Agricultural Soci- 
ety, in 1855, that in 1804, at the age of fourteen 
years, he had impregnated and hatched the eggs 
of trout and other fishes. This has been denied 
and ridiculed, but the character of Dr. Bachman 



16 PEACTICAL TK0UT CULTURE. 

as a Christian gentleman is too well known and 
recognized for us for a moment to" doubt his 
veracity. Though his opinions upon religion, 
politics, and natural history may have met with 
many opponents, his truthfulness, save in this 
one* case, has never been impeached. 

That Dr. Bachman, at the age of sixty-five, 
should willfully and maliciously prepare and 
publish a series of falsehoods, is an opinion not 
for one moment to be entertained. The length 
of time which elapsed between the experiments 
and the publication of the paper in which they 
are described, has been urged as an argument 
against the possibility of their having been per- 
formed. This is readily answered by the fact 
that Dr. Bachman makes no claim to the inven- 
tion of the process. A full account of Jacobi's 
experiments and their result was published in 
1773 in Duhamel du Monceau's "Traite general 
des Peches," a work to which young Bachman 
had, most probably, access. And we therefore 
see in this school-boy experiment the early dawn- 
ing of that love for scientific research which in 
riper years rendered him famous. 

Between the years 1804 and 1844, experimental 
pisciculture was frequently practiced both by 

* Garlick's "Fish Culture," 1858, p. 135. 



HISTORY OF FISH CULTURE. 17 

amateurs and savans, and numbers of facts as- 
certained which upon the revival of the science 
proved of the greatest value and importance. In 
1820, Messrs. Hivert and Pilachon, after much 
trouble, succeeded in hatching a sufficient num- 
ber of trout to stock a small stream in the south 
of France. The eggs used in the microscopical 
examination of the development of the embryo, by 
Messrs. Vogt and Agassiz, were also obtained in 
this manner. But claim to the re-establishment 
of pisciculture as a science must be awarded to 
Joseph Remy of France. Remy was a fisherman 
who gained his livelihood by the capture of trout 
in the streams of the Vosges Mountains, dividing 
Alsatia and Lorraine, those two countries which, 
from time to time, alternately appear on and dis- 
appear from the maps of France and Germany. 
He had noticed with regret the rapid disappear- 
ance of his favorite fishes, and being, though un- 
educated and ignorant, active, energetic, and per- 
severing, devoted himself for several years to the 
study of their habits, especially during the spawn- 
ing season. The excessive drought during the 
summer and autumn of 1842 favored his inves- 
tigations. It was, of course, impossible for one 
man to keep a constant eye upon a school of 
fishes ; nature would demand rest ; Remy there- 
fore associated with him a tavern-keeper (auber- 



18 PKACTICAL TEOUT CULTURE. 

giste) named Grehin, who alternated with him in 
his observations. So earnestly were these pur- 
sued, that in one instance, during the full of the 
moon, a school of trout were kept constantly in 
view during four consecutive days and nights. 
The result was the rediscovery of the process of 
Jacobi, which they at once put into successful 
practice ; for four years it was kept secret, as 
even if desirous of so doing, neither of the op- 
erators were alble to prepare an account of their 
work for the public use ; hut in 1848 Dr. Haxo, 
of Epinal, visited their establishment, and at 
once recognized the value of their labors. Re- 
ports were immediately prepared by him and 
forwarded to the Government and French Acad- 
emy ; by both were they received with favor. A 
commission of savans, headed by Mr. Coste, Pro- 
fessor of Embryology in the College of France, 
visited the fish farm of the Yosges, and reported 
upon it favorably. Remy became at once a 
celebrity; he was invited to Paris, and the fish- 
erman, but a few months previous utterly un- 
known, was an honored guest at the table of the 
President of the then Republic. Work after 
work was written ; report upon report issued. A 
violent war of words arose between Dr. Haxo 
and Prof. Coste in regard to the question of 
Remy versus Jacobi, the whole resulting finally 



HIST0EY OF FISH CULTUEE. 19 

in the establishment of the French Governmental 
fish farm at Huningue, in' 1851. 

In 1853, Dr. F. Garlick and Prof. H. A. Ackley 
succeeded, after great labor and expense, in es- 
tablishing a small fish farm near Cleveland, O. 
The primary result of this was the hatching of a 
few trout ; the secondary, the appearance of a 
work entitled "A Treatise on the Artificial Prop- 
agation of Fish," a work at the present day far 
more curious than valuable. In 1859, Mr. Ste- 
phen H. Ainsworth, of West Bloomfield, N. Y., 
commenced his experiments ; from the paucity of 
his supply of water, it was impossible for him to 
enter upon fish culture as a business ; but as an 
experimenter, he has perhaps done as much if 
not more for the advancement of American trout 
culture than any other person. He has made 
numerous inventions, among which his spawning 
eace stands pre-eminent. The following letter, 
received some time since, will explain his charac- 
ter as a man and a pisciculturist better than 
pages of eulogy : 

"West Bloomfield, K T., Oct. 26. > 

Deae Sie — The spawning race you refer to is 

not patented, nor will be with my knowledge and 

consent. I have done all I well could for eleven 

years to improve the cultivation of trout for the 



20 PEACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

benefit of mankind, not for my own profit. 
Should this race prove to Ibe the "best method of 
impregnating and saving the spawn to produce 
healthy trout, without mortality soon after they 
commence to feed, it will be the great object 
sought for, and make trout-breeding certain. 
But time and experience will test this. 
Respectfully, yours, 

Stephen H. Ainsworth. 

Among the frequent visitors to Mr. Ainsworth' s 
fish farm was Seth Green, whose name is now 
known and honored by every angler and epicure 
throughout our land. For years he had been 
studying the problem of fish culture, and had, 
like Remy, spent days and nights in observing 
the habits of fishes. In 1864 the well-known 
Mumford establishment was originated by Mr. 
Green, and hundreds of thousands of impreg- 
nated spawn annually shipped to all parts of the 
United States. The great problem was solved, 
and for the first time in America fish culture was 
made a pecuniary success. Trout were hatched 
by thousands, but as a representative American, 
Seth was not satisfied : the production of millions 
alone would content him. Our shad were rapidly 
diminishing in numbers and decreasing in size ; 
his desire was to restore them to our depleted 



IIISTOEY OF FISH CULTURE. 21 

streams. This was the task to which he bent all 
his energies. The difficulties he encountered are 
too well known to "be repeated ; but at length his 
hour of triumph came : the shad hatching-box, 
beautiful in its simplicity, was invented. The 
Connecticut River was replenished with shad, 
thousands were captured at one sweep of the 
seine where hundreds had been taken but the 
previous year, and fish culture had become a 
matter of national importance. 

Such is a slight sketch, which we hope may 
not prove uninteresting, of the rise and progress 
of our art; step by step has it advanced from 
2,100 B.C. to 1872, but who can prophesy its fu- 
ture ? In 1864 there was but one fish farm in the 
United States ; in less than eight years they are 
counted by hundreds. Success is within the reach 
of all — may all achieve it ! 



PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 



CHAPTER II. 



CHOOSING A LOCATION. 



That the choice of a location for a fish farm is 
a matter of vitaL importance to the pisciculturist, 
is self-evident. The statement that any farmer 
who has a spring upon his place can at once enter 
upon the business at little cost of time and money 
is, as experiment has too often proved, scarcely 
correct. We have examined hundreds of streams 
and springs in various parts of our own and ad- 
jacent States, and though a few have Ibeen found 
to combine all the necessary requirements, many, 
from causes hereafter to be mentioned, were totally 
unfitted for the purpose. The requisites for a per- 
fect trout farm are : 

1. An ample and constant supply of pure, cold 
water. 

2. Sufficient fall for the construction of ponds 
and race-ways. 

3. Protection from surface water. 

4. Proper material for the construction of banks. 
That an ample and constant supply of pure, 



CHOOSING A LOCATION. 23 

cold water is absolutely necessary, must be ap- 
parent to all. For judging this, the only proper 
time is during midsummer, when the supply is at 
its minimum and the temperature at its maxi- 
mum. Try the water with a good thermometer 
(not one of those twenty-five cent abominations 
with which the energy of peddlers have stocked 
the country), and if the temperature is above 65°, 
though in the air it may be among the nineties, it 
is unfit for fish culture. It is true that trout will 
thrive even at a temperature some five degrees 
higher, but it must be remembered that the water, 
in passing through the ponds during the summer 
season, has a most unpleasant habit of becoming 
hotter and hotter, and while spring head is at 60° 
lowest pond may be some ten degrees higher. 
Again, we have found from careful research that 
the lower the temperature of the water to which 
the spawn are subjected during incubation, the 
more healthy the little fishes are likely to be ; we 
say temperature of the water, for below 32° of 
course ice is formed, which is in most cases fatal 
to the vitality of the egg. The springs by which 
the hatching-houses of our most successful estab- 
lishments are supplied, range from 47° to 55°. It 
is true that by a low temperature the time of incu- 
bation is lengthened, but this is a matter of little 
importance ; again, with increased temperature 



24 PEACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

comes increased danger : the fungoid growths 
which, in spite of all our care, will sometimes 
appear in our hatching-trays or rearing-lboxes, are 
too often evidence of a too elevated temperature. 
Attempts made to keep down the temperature "by 
passing the water through a refrigerator filled with 
ice have thus far failed, even when the experiment 
has "been performed upon a very small scale. 
Other fish may be hatched at a much higher tem- 
perature ; shad eggs not coming to maturity "below 
70°, and gold fish have been bred even when the 
thermometer stood over a hundred ; but trout are 
a peculiar fish, and 55° is the highest at which 
their spawn will produce vigorous and healthy 
young. The question is often asked : given the 
capacity and temperature of the water supply, 
what amount of trout will it support? To an- 
swer this we sought diligently the pages of all 
authorities upon fish culture, but in none of them 
was the subject even mentioned. Inquiry was 
made of those who were supposed to be thoroughly 
posted in every branch of the art, but no informa- 
tion could be obtained. We at once entered upon 
a course of experiments, resulting in proving that 
for each gallon of water per minute at the temper- 
ature of 50° degrees, ten pounds of trout can be 
sustained ; thus the Troutdale spring delivers a 
volume of water which at the dryest season has 



CHOOSING A LOCATION. 25 

been proved by repeated experiments to measure 
twelve hundred and fifty gallons per minute ; as 
each gallon will support ten pounds of trout, 
twelve thousand five hundred pounds weight can 
be sustained by the water of our spring. When 
sufficient fall can be obtained, by proper aeration 
the capacity of the water may be still greater in- 
creased. 

Many rules, most of them involving abstruse 
mathematical calculations, have been given for 
ascertaining the number of gallons delivered by 
a stream per minute. The following, however, we 
have found to be the most simple and sufficiently 
correct for all practical purposes. Measure the 
width and depth of the stream where for a short 
distance the banks are nearly parallel and the 
depth nearly uniform ; between these parallel 
banks throw a chip or cork into the water, and 
note the distance it drifts during a quarter of a 
minute ; multiply the product of the depth and 
width of the stream by the distance traversed by 
the chip or cork, and the product, when dimin- 
ished by one-fifth, will give the number of cubic 
feet delivered in a quarter of a minute. The one- 
fifth must be deducted, as the rapidity of the 
flow on the surface is greater than at the bottom 
of the stream. Thus, suppose the depth of the 
stream to be two feet and its width four, and that 

2 



26 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

the chip has traveled ten feet in one quarter of a 
minute. Twice four are eight ; this multiplied by 
ten, the distance traversed, will give eighty, from 
which deduct one-fifth (16), and we have sixty- 
four cubic feet as the amount delivered in a 
quarter of a minute, or two hundred and fifty-six 
per minute. Now, as a cubic foot of water con- 
tains about six and a quarter gallons, we multiply 
the number of cubic feet (256) by six and a quar- 
ter, and the result (1,599) will be the number of 
gallons furnished per minute by the stream. The 
accuracy of the result of this method of measure- 
ment will depend, of course, upon the parallelism 
of the banks and the uniformity of the depth of 
the portion of the stream over which the chip has 
floated. When the water passes through a rect- 
angular trough, the result will be found to be 
almost absolutely correct. 

The necessity of a sufficient fall for the proper 
arrangement of ponds, race-ways, and buildings 
is absolute ; in fact, the maintenance of the proper 
temperature depends greatly on the rapidity with 
which the water flows through the ponds, — a slow, 
sluggish stream becoming rapidly heated, while 
a rapid current may pass over a comparatively 
long distance without the water becoming percep- 
tibly warmer. The rapid-running mountain brook 
is the home of the trout ; and this should be imi- 



CHOOSING A LOCATION. 27 

tated as closely as possible. Four feet is the least 
fall which will render the ground suitable for the 
construction of trout ponds. 

From the influx of surface-water more loss has 
probably been sustained by pisciculturists than 
from any other cause. "My banks have been 
again carried away by a freshet," is the -cry of too 
many sufferers, and no accident is more difficult 
to prevent than this. All streams are liable to 
freshets ; and for this reason, as well as others to 
be mentioned in a succeeding chapter, a spring 
supply is greatly to be preferred. A properly- 
constructed trout pond should not become muddy 
during the heaviest rain storm. By a proper 
system of ditching, or the construction of guard 
banks, in many locations the surface water can 
be kept out ; but too frequently the lay of the 
ground renders it impossible to construct them 
without great expense, and sites which possess all 
other advantages are unavailable for trout ponds. 
The best material for the construction of pond 
banks is, beyond all doubt, clay ; but this is not 
always to be met with. Much labor and expense, 
however, is saved if it is found upon the spot, 
though good banks can and have been made with 
other material. Yet in case several locations, 
otherwise similar, being offered to the seeker for a 
pond site, it would be well to investigate the na- 



28 PEACTICAL TEOUT CULTUEE. 

ture of the surrounding soil, and choose that upon 
which earth is found most suitalble for "bank con- 
struction. Sandy loam or gravel will, with proper 
care and expenditure, form good banks, but clay 
is far preferable. It may here be suggested that 
the immediate vicinity of a large town is to be 
avoided, as the roughs, that class of population to 
be found in every city, have a fondness for trout ; 
and a nocturnal visit from individuals of this 
stamp is generally attended by results far from 
pleasant. In fact, the stealing of trout from a 
private pond is too frequently regarded by even 
the so-called better classes as a venial offense. In 
many of our States it is considered in law only 
as a trespass ; and many have been deterred 
from engaging in fish-farming from want of proper 
protection for their crop ; but unfortunately no 
distinction is made between fishes reared with 
much labor and expense and the wild denizens 
of the mountain brook, all, wherever found, being 
regarded a,sferce, and their captors being liable 
only to a small fine and the market value of the 
fishes taken ; in fact, Mr. Ward, of Mumford, 
~N. Y., was obliged to suffer an imprisonment in 
the county jail, a few years since, for peppering 
with shot the carcass of a scoundrel whom he 
detected in the act of stealing his fishes. Can 
it, therefore, be considered strange that a large 



CHOOSING A LOCATION. 29 

percentage of the trout sold in the New York 
market bear upon them, in the marks of the gill 
nets in which they were taken, silent proofs of the 
necessity of more stringent legislation % It is ad- 
visable that the ponds should be so located as to 
be in full view of the residence of the proprietor, 
and a good dog, or, better still, a pair, will gen- 
erally give notice of the approach of a nocturnal 
visitor. We have no doubt but that the voices 
of our faithful bloodhounds Nero and Flora have 
frequently prevented the visits of poachers to our 
ponds. 

Such are the points to be examined in selecting 
a location for a future fish farm ; and should a 
situation be found combining all these necessary 
qualifications, nature has done her part, and now 
the work of human hands must commence. 



30 PEACTIOAL TEOUT CULTUEE. 



CHAPTER III. 

PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION OF PONDS. 

The site being procured, the next step is the 
planning of the ponds, a matter of no small 
trouble and care. One wrong step at the com- 
mencement may entail constant perplexity and 
even disaster. It is easy for an expert to plan 
and construct, but for a tyro it is a matter of no. 
small difficulty, and the few dollars paid at the 
outset to a competent piscicultural engineer may 
save in the end thousands. The plan must, of 
course, vary with the nature of the ground ; in 
fact it would scarcely be possible to construct two 
in different locations precisely alike, but the fol- 
lowing directions are applicable to all cases. 

Three ponds at least are always required con- 
nected by race-ways never less than fifteen feet in 
length. In these race-ways the spawning races 
are to be placed ; or if the spawn is to be taken 
by hand they must be prepared so as to entice the 
fishes into them when ready to give up their eggs. 
Unless the water supply is very scant, the full 
current must not be allowed to pass through the 



CONSTRUCTION OF PONDS. 31 

pond in which the youngest fishes are to be placed. 
Each pond should, if possible, be so arranged 
that it may be drawn entirely off without affecting 
the remaining ponds. The shape of the ponds is 
a matter of importance. For ornamental pleasure 
grounds the circle or elipse may suit, but for work- 
ing ponds the form should be always oblong, and 
the width no greater than twenty-five feet. This 
will allow the ready removal of dead fish or any 
filth which may accumulate upon the bottom, 
which it would be impossible to reach were the 
pond of a circular or even oblong form. Should 
the formation of the ground permit, the ponds 
should be placed parallel to each other, and not, 
as is too frequently the case, strung along like 
beads upon a string. It must be remembered that 
the hardest work of the fish-farmer occurs in the 
coldest season of the year, and the whole works 
should be arranged as compactly as possible, that 
every unnecessary step may be avoided. A full 
suite of ponds need not occupy a space of over 
two hundred and fifty by one hundred feet. 

As an example of a complete system of ponds, 
we present on the following page a diagram show- 
ing the arrangement of our works at Troutdale, 
near Bloomsbury, N. J., the compactness and 
convenience of which we think can scarce be ex- 
celled. The original plan, which, however, we 



32 PEACTICAL TK0UT CULTURE. 

have greatly modified, was devised by Mr. Tliad- 
deus Norris, of whom we purchased the place in 
1867. At the time of purchase, pond No. 1 only 
was completed, though work upon the "banks of 
the other ponds had been commenced. Four years 
have we been engaged in perfecting them, and it 
is only within the past season that our improve- 
ments have been entirely completed. 




Fig. 1. 

The spring (marked S on the plan) from which 
all the water is obtained is of a capacity of about 
twelve hundred gallons per minute, constant in 
quantity, throughout the entire year. The tem- 
perature of the water is 50° ; never varying more 
than one degree in the heat of summer or depth 



CONSTRUCTION OF PONDS. 33 

of winter. Analysis shows it to contain carbon- 
ate of lime, alumina, and iron in small quantities, 
with a small amount of free carbonic-acid. Pass- 
ing down a race-way (a) fifty -five feet long, 
four wide, and six inches deep, the water enters 
pond No. 1 ; and, following the course of the 
arrows, passes successively through 1, 2, and 3, 
and is discharged at the point b into No. 4. This 
pond is not used for fishes, but for the culture of 
water-cress, an article which finds a ready sale in 
the New York market. At the points marked x 
are sluice-gates, at which are placed screens of 
wire gauze. These screens are arranged in pairs, 
and each performs a separate duty — the upper 
arresting all leaves, sticks, or other floating trash 
which may find its way into the ponds, and the 
lower preventing the mixture of fishes of different 
ages. 

When the young fishes are first placed in No. 1, 
were the whole current of the stream allowed to 
pass through they would be washed against the 
lower screen and perish ; but by means of the cross 
race (c) the amount of water supply can be regu- 
lated to a nicety. The hatching-house (H) for- 
merly occupied the site of the gold-fish pond (5), 
and was supplied with water from the spring by 
pipes, but some two years since was removed to 
its present and more convenient location. At C 

2* 



34 PKACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

a small branch from the spring supplies the water 
by which the machinery in the meat-house (M), 
used for preparing the fish food, is put in motion ; 
the waste water then passes to the bass pond (6), 
in which experiments upon the breeding of the 
black bass are to be prosecuted during the coming 
summer. At D is the house of the superintend- 
ent, while the residence of the proprietor over- 
looks the whole. The dimensions of the principal 
ponds are : 

No. 1, 150 by 15 feet. 
No. 2, 150 by 18 feet. 

No. 3, 185 long, and varying from 20 to 35 feet in width.' 
Depth : No. 1, one to two feet ; No. 2, two to four feet ; No. 3, 
three to five feet. 

In cases where ponds are constructed in the 
direct course of a stream, the pond for the small 
fry should be placed on one side and connected 
with the main channel by a race with a sluice- 
gate at its opening, by which the supply of water 
may be regulated. Fig. 2 represents a series of 



__£; 


1 ^/rf : ^-^---^--^^\ t 


j 14 2 i. xv 


-^ 


. ri ^_.__. r ... 



^IG. 2. 



ponds planned by us in 1869, and now in success- 
ful operation. The dotted lines indicate the origi- 



CONSTRUCTION OF PONDS. 35 

nal course of the stream. At the points A and 
B dams were erected and the earth removed, form- 
ing ponds ISTos. 2 and 3. Pond No. 1 is exca- 
vated upon the right bank and connected with 
the main stream by the race a; b serves both 
as an outlet for No. 1 and a spawning race for 
No. 2. Sluice-gates (marked x\ with screens, are 
placed at proper points. We might go on add- 
ing plan to plan, ad infinitum, having in our 
portfolios dozens which we have either designed, 
or drawn from other sources ; but we hope that 
the two presented will afford our readers a gen- 
eral idea, which is all that can be expected in a 
work of the present size. 

The plan of the ponds having been decided 
upon, the proportionate size of the banks re- 
quired to retain the water will next occupy the x 
attention of the projector. 

This is a matter of more importance than is 
generally considered. Moving earth is an expen- 
sive process, and every cubic yard unnecessarily 
transported is money lost to the projector ; while 
if not built of the requisite strength, severe loss is 
sure to follow. The proportions suggested by the 
French engineers, and which we have found in 
every case to be perfectly satisfactory, are as fol- 
lows : the width at base must be three times the 
the height, and the width at top equal to the 



36 PEACTIOAL TEOUT CULTURE. 

height. Thus, if the height of the embankment 
is ten feet, the width at base must be thirty feet, 
and the width of the top ten. These are the pro- 
portions with ordinary earth ; if stiff clay be nsed 
the thickness need not be so great, and if sandy 
loam or gravel only can be obtained the width, 
base, and top, must be increased. The water line 
should never be nearer the top of the bank than 
one foot. Great damage is frequently done by the 
muslirat. He has been accused of killing the trout. 
This we think to be a mistake ; but his burrowing 
propensities we know by sad experience. In local- 
ities where these pests abound it is well to build a 
wall of brick, and fill in each side with earth to the 
proper slope. The driving of sheet piles through 
the banks has been recommended, but the crea- 
tures seem rather to enjoy gnawing their way 
through them. A wall of brick or stone, be it 
only but a few inches in thickness, will, however, 
effectually keep them out. For the same reason, 
the race-ways should be lined with brick. As 
soon as the banks have settled they should be 
sodded. Besides adding to their beauty this will 
prevent them from being washed and guttered by 
the rains. If trees are wanted they should be 
planted at once. The best tree for pond banks is 
the weeping- willow — of rapid growth, sending out 
roots in every direction, which firmly bind the 



CONSTKUCTIOlSr OF PONDS. 37 

banks together, the first green tree in spring, and 
the last to shed its leaves in autumn, it is pecul- 
iarly adapted for the shading of fish ponds. 
The building and proper setting of the sluice-ways 
require much care. We are sorry to see that 
several new, and otherwise well-appointed estab- 
lishments have adopted a species of concealed 
gate, a large portion of which is totally inaccess- 
ible unless the water be entirely drawn off from the 
pond. An open gate, to every part of which free 
access can be had at all times, is the only one which 
should find a place at the ponds of a* practical 
fish-farmer. The best wood for their construction 
is well- seasoned chestnut. The frame should be of 
2x2 lumber, mortised and tenoned. Every nail 
should be dipped in oil before being driven, and 
two thick coats of paint applied to the whole 
woodwork and allowed to become thoroughly dry 
before the sluice-gate is placed in position. It is 
well if the boards are plowed and grooved, but 
this is not absolutely necessary. In setting in po- 
sition, level the ground accurately, place the gate 
perfectly level, and behind, place across the bed of 
the stream a frame of scantling upon which nail 
boards, forming a sheeting, reaching from the gate 
about three feet up stream. On this build the 
wings, extending at an angle of about 45° to the 
end of the sheeting. At the front edge of the gate 



38 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

lay up a rough wall and fill in with, mud — not 
dry earth, nor even dampened earth, hut liquid 
mud. Allow this to remain until dry, and you will 
have that rare article upon trout farms, a perfectly 
tight sluice-gate. The frames of the screens should 
be strongly made and mortised. Of these frames 
it is well to have an extra supply on hand, that in 
case of injury to one it may be at once removed 
and another substituted. For leaf screens, galvan- 
ized iron wires, "No. 9, should be used, placed par- 
allel, about three-quarters of an inch apart, with a 
transverse wire every four inches to prevent bend- 
ing and falling out. The fish screens (Fig. 3) 
should be made of wire gauze from one-eighth to 




Fig. 3 

five-eighths of an inch mesh ; the smaller sizes 
(say to three-eighths) of copper or brass ; the 
larger may be of iron, painted or galvanized. If 
kept well painted they will last a long time, even 
under water. The wooden frames should be 
thoroughly painted, and a japanned iron handle 
attached to the top will be found very convenient. 
Shade, which is absolutely necessary for trout, 
is best furnished by trees which, as previously 



CONSTRUCTION OF PONDS. 39 

stated, should be planted as soon after the com- 
pletion of the banks as possible ; but while they 
are growing, a few boards nailed together, forming 
a float, should be anchored in each pond. A few 
rustic bridges will also afford hiding-places to 
the fish, as well as adding to the beauty of the 
grounds. 

The bottom of the first pond, or that intended 
for the fishes during the first year of their exist- 
ence, may be covered with gravel, but none should 
be allowed in the other ponds. During the spawn- 
ing season the adult fishes will seek gravel for the 
purpose of depositing their ova, and should it be 
found by them in the ponds, they will not resort 
to the race-ways, and the eggs will be lost. The 
growth of aquatic plants should be encouraged, 
especially in the first pond, as they perform a 
triple service : first, they assist in oxygenating the 
water ; secondly, they give ample shade to the lit- 
tle fishes ; and thirdly, they afford refuge for myr- 
iads of minute insects, the natural food of the young 
trout. There is but one objection to plants : they 
are the favorite food of the muskrat ; and, during 
the winter, when green vegetable food is not every- 
where to be met with, these pests of the fish-farmer 
will be attracted by it, and, as they cut off much 
more than they eat or carry away, serious diffi- 
culty may occur from the clogging of the screens. 



40 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

To obviate this, we have for some years past drawn 
down the water of onr ponds about the first of 
October, and cut off all plants with a sharp scythe. 
This removes temptation from the muskrats, and 
favors the spreading of the water plants. The best 
for this purpose are the hornwort (ceratopTiyllum) 
and water starwort {callitriche). 

A number of large, irregular stones should be 
placed in the second and third ponds, that the 
fishes, by rubbing against them, may free them- 
selves from the parasites with which they are some- 
times infested. And if fears are entertained of vis- 
its from midnight marauders, a number of stakes 
deeply driven into the bottoms of the ponds and 
sawed off even with the top of the water will effect- 
ually prevent the dragging of a seine, or the proper 
(or improper) manipulation of a scoop-net. 

A strong and high picket-fence should inclose 
all. The best pickets are made of hemlock, and 
should be at least eight feet long, four inches 
wide, and one and a quarter inches in thickness. 
These must be strongly nailed to the string-pieces, 
which should not be less than 4x4 inches. A 
light fence, from its liability to be broken, is a 
source of constant trouble, besides affording but 
little protection. A good coat of whitewash every 
two or three years will be all the care required. 



HATCHING-HOUSES AND APPARATUS. 41 



CHAPTER IV. 

HATCHING-HOUSES AND APPARATUS. 

The hatching-house is a modern invention. A 
simple trough by the side of the stream, guarded 
by wire screens at each end, having the bottom 
covered with sand or gravel, and a cover with lock 
and key over the whole, was the only apparatus 
used by Pinchon and Jacobi ; Remy inclosed his 
spawn in perforated tin boxes ; and a champagne 
basket anchored in the stream was frequently used 
as a means of hatching ova by the early French 
pisciculturists. The trough of Pinchon and Ja- 
cobi is still retained in some of our largest Ameri- 
can establishments, and was used at Troutdale 
until 1870. In our latitude, out-door hatching- 
troughs, except on a very small scale, are entirely 
out of the question. Trout- spawning takes place 
during the coldest and most inclement season of 
the year, and a covering is positively required — 
even a stove in the hatching-house being a luxury 
by no means to be despised. Three styles of 
hatching apparatus are now in use : the trough, the 
Coste (or, more properly, Caron) arrangement, and 



42 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

a combination of the two. The cut on the oppo- 
site page, representing the Troutdale hatching- 
house, in 1868, will show the trough arrangement. 

In the floor are set two double rows of wooden 
troughs, thirty feet long "by eighteen inches wide 
and four inches deep ; these are each subdivided 
by cross-pieces of wood into twenty compartments, 
18x18 inches, the bottoms of these divisions be- 
ing covered to the depth of about an inch with 
fine white gravel, and a gentle current of water 
allowed to flow through them, the water being 
carefully filtered. In fact, no unfiltered water 
should be allowed to enter any hatching-house ; 
not only so-called dirt (which has been prop- 
erly defined as misplaced matter) will enter, but 
also the larvse of insects, many species of which 
destroy the spawn with tremendous rapidity. At 
Stormonfield, Scotland, over seventy thousand 
salmon eggs were lost in one season from this 
cause. 

When, from the location, it is possible, it is well 
to have the troughs raised breast-high, that in ex- 
amining the spawn and removing the dead a back- 
breaking position may be avoided. This, in our 
old hatching-house, was unfortunately impossible 
— the fall from the spring to the level of the floor 
being but a few inches. Short troughs have been 
much lauded by writers, but after careful experi- 



HATCHING-HOUSES AND APPAEATUS. 



43 




44 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTUEE. 

ment we found that the spawn deposited in the 
lowest division of the trough did equally as well 
as those in the highest. 

From our first season we were dissatisfied with 
troughs. Spite of all our care, dirt would find 
its way into them, and, lying concealed amid the 
gravel, seriously affect, by its putrefaction, the 
health of the spawn or young fishes ; the gravel 
being white, dead ova would too frequently escape 
observation, and, as will hereafter be explained, 
destroy large numbers of eggs before their pres- 
ence could be detected. Spawn would die buried 
in the gravel, and at the time of the emergency of 
the young fish from the egg, a period when per- 
fect cleanliness was most especially required, the 
amount of filth in the troughs would be greatest. 
Again, upon the wood a thick, gelatinous sub- 
stance would appear, slimy to the touch and dis- 
gusting to the eye, and which no precaution on 
our part could prevent, though we have since 
learned that covering the entire inside surface 
with window-glass, bedded in pitch, has been 
practiced with success. The difficulty of remov- 
ing spawn for supplying customers was great, and, 
from being buried in the damp earth, the wood 
rotted rapidly, requiring frequent repairs. We 
were delighted on reading of the small hatching- 
trays invented by Mr. Caron, of France, though 



HATCHING-HOUSES AND APPARATUS. 



45 



erroneously attributed to M. Coste, Professor of 
Embryology in the College of France, the latter 
gentlemen having only used it in connection with 
his well-known experiments. It appeared to us 
to afford every facility for examining, handling, 
and keeping clean the spawn. As its use, on a 
large scale, would necessitate the changing of 
the site of our hatching-house and involve con- 
siderable expense, we commenced upon a small 
scale, but the results being perfectly satisfactory, 
we, in 1870, rebuilt our hatching-house in a new 




Fig. 5. 

location, using only the trays ; and have never 
regretted the change, considering that, at least, 
one-half of the manual labor is saved by their 
use. A pair properly arranged is represented by 
Fig. 5. The box, or body of the tray (a), is of 
galvanized iron, about No. 29 guage ; it measures 



46 PRACTICAL TEOUT CULTURE. 

twenty inches in length, six inches in width, and 
three in depth ; at each corner is soldered, one and 
a half inches from the top, a triangular piece of 
galvanized iron, npon which the grille or frame 
rests ; a spout is placed near one corner, and a 
tube for drawing out the contents, when necessary, 
is attached to one end; This, when the tray is in 
use, is closed with a cork. 






Fig. 6. 

Fig. 6 represents a section of the metallic por- 
tion of the tray, a the spout, b, b, b, b the triangu- 
lar corner-*pieces upon which the grille rests, and 
c the drainage tube. The grille (Fig. 5, b, b,) 
is composed of glass tubes, from fV to ■$■$ of an 
inch in diameter, inclosed in a frame of black wal- 
nut, measuring, inside, exactly eighteen and a 
half by four and a half inches. This exact length 
'was chosen as it will include, on an average, one 
hundred eggs, and thus the amount taken may 
be readily estimated. The width was chosen, 
after consultation with a tinman, that there need 
be no waste in cutting the material — a point of no 
small pecuniary importance, when large numbers 
are to be manufactured. The tubes are lightly yet 
firmly bound together by copper wire, which 



HATCHING-HOUSES AND APPARATUS. 47 

allows slight, lateral motion if required, and bind- 
ing them together- allows a shock to "be distributed 
over the entire set- The force of a blow which 
would cause breakage of a single tube is thus 
divided over a number, and they escape un- 
harmed. The ends of the frame are fastened with 
screws, and, should any of the glasses become 
broken, they may be readily removed and others 
substituted. A single tray, or, at most, a pair, 
are all that are required for experimental pur- 
poses ; they may be supplied with water from any 
bath-room, and have, as an adjunct to the aqua- 
rium, met with great favor from persons interested 
in natural history or physiology The shell of the 
egg being transparent, the young, at all periods 
of its development, is plainly seen. We were, as 
far as we can ascertain, the first to introduce this 
beautiful piece of fish apparatus into America, 
and met with some opposition from those who 
were wedded to their gravel troughs. We desired 
to select a location as unfavorable as possible for 
fish-hatching, and finally decided upon the lect- 
ure-table in the laboratory of the University of 
Pennsylvania, during the height of the lecture 
season ; yet, amid this atmosphere, contaminated 
by all the noxious gases which the ingenuity of 
man can eliminate, many of which are highly sol- 
uable in water, exposed to great variations of tern- 



48 



PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 



perature, and to the constant vibration caused by 
the arrival and departure of hundreds of students, 
ninety per cent, of spawn deposited on the grille, 
as soon as the eyespecks could be distinguished, 
hatched. To Prof. Rodgers we would here return 
our thanks for his kindness in allowing us to 
perform this experiment. Where several boxes 




Fig. 7/ 



are used they are arranged in flights, the spouts 
being alternately right and left. The above 
engraving (Fig. 7) represents what is called the 
single flight. The quantity of water represented 
by the artist as rushing through the boxes and 



HATCHING-HOUSES AND APPARATUS. 



49 



falling in a graceful parabolic curve to the floor, 
is entirely too great ; a slight stream, which has 
been described as a severe trickle, will be all that 
is required. 

As the boxes have an average capacity of fifteen 
hundred spawn, seven thousand five hundred can 
be hatched in a flight of five boxes, occupying a 
space of but twenty-one by thirty-one inches; 
while the double pyramidal flight (Fig. 8), eight 




Fig. 8. 

feet by three, will accommodate about twenty thou- 
sand spawn. In the Troutdale hatching-house, 
of the interior of which a cut is presented (Fig. 9) 
on the following page, it will be seen that along 
the wall, to the right and left, these trays are 
arranged in double, lateral flights, the water enter- 
ing from a two-inch pipe directly from the spring 

3 



50 



PEACTICAL * TEOUT CITLTUEE. 




HATCHING-HOUSES AND APPARATUS. 51 

into the filtering-box at the extreme end of the 
building, from whence it is carried to the supply 
trough which runs parallel with the sides of the 
building. The troughs are supplied by stop-cocks 
of pewter. These we have found preferable to 
brass, as they are cheaper, cleaner, and not liable 
to get out of order. Instead of splashing on the 
floor, the water from the lowest trays is received 
into a funnel and passes by a pipe, inclined 
at an acute angle, to the out-of-the-way gutters, 
immediately beneath the supply troughs. The 
amount of water is regulated by a stop-cock at 
the entrance of the main supply pipe. For this 
purpose a molasses faucet answers every purpose ; 
a slight leakage being of no importance. In the 
center of the building are a pair of old gravel 
troughs, elevated breast-high ; these are used only 
for keeping the young fry for some time after 
hatching, and are called the nursery troughs. 
They are of little use, except in large establish- 
ments, and will be again mentioned when we arrive 
at the alevin or babyhood stage of the young 
trout. The floor of the hatching-house is a matter 
of some importance, dry feet are a luxury which 
we fully appreciate, and india-rubber boots an 
abomination. A dry floor of a hatching-house, 
be it of wood, earth, asphalt, or cement, is almost 
an impossibility. The best arrangement that can 



62 PEACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

Ibe made is to lay what is called a spar floor, 
composed of pieces of shingle lath (2 x 1) laid 
upon 2x3 inch scantling, the laths being one 
inch apart, and rounded slightly, or, as it is tech- 
nically termed, "the corners taken off" on the 
tipper side ; any water which may drip will, of 
course, fall "between these, and a comparatively 
dry footing will be obtained. By means of over- 
flow pipes in the supply and breeding troughs, a 
proper height of water may always be retained. 

The advantages of the tray over the trough sys- 
tem are numerous : First, it is almost impossible 
for any dirt to settle upon the glass and destroy 
the vitality of the egg ; secondly, the eggs are al- 
ways in full view, not only can their development 
be watched, a matter of great interest to every 
true fish culturist, but any dead or dying ones can 
at once be detected and removed. The number of 
rods in each grille being known, the number of 
spawn on hand can be at once estimated ; and, 
when eggs are to be packed for shipping, the un- 
certain method of measuring and the tedious one 
of counting can both be avoided. The young 
fishes, when hatched, fall through the interstices 
between the tubes into the water beneath, and by 
withdrawing the cork can be "drawn off" into a 
pan of water and removed to the nursery trough. 
If no trough is on hand, they may be retained in 



HATCHING-HOUSES AND APPAKATUSl 53 

the pan until the trough is thoroughly cleansed and 
a little gravel spread over the bottom, when they 
may be returned to the tray and kept until ready 
for the pond. If it is intended that the tray be used 
as a nursery, it should have the orifice of the spout 
covered with fine wire gauze, to prevent the sud- 
den disappearance of the fish after the sac has 
been absorbed, an event of no unlikely occurrence. 
The windows of the hatching-house should be pro- 
tected by thick blinds, as the dim, religious light, 
so often mentioned, is appropriate for the spawn. 
Direct sunlight is decidedly injurious and fre- 
quently fatal. We have found a small reflecting 
lantern convenient in examining spawn. Candles 
should not be used, as grease falling into the trays 
may seriously injure their contents. 

The mixed system is a combination of the trough 
with the grille — a slight saving in expense is the 
only benefit to be derived from it, and this is more 
than counterbalanced by the difficulties met with 
in their manipulation. If the troughs are long, 
a slight motion at one end will cause a wave which 
will be transmitted throughout its entire length, 
and, as we have found by experiment, seriously 
disturb the spawn. It will be found to be very 
difficult to keep the trough clean, and the young, 
after hatching, fall directly upon the dirt, which 
has for some time been accumulating, and which 



54 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

can not readily be removed. Two troughs, with, 
one set of grilles, which might "be transferred 
from one trough to the other to allow cleansing, 
might answer ; but the tray is by far the most con- 
venient ; it is simple, substantial, neat, and cleanly ; 
and what more can be desired % 

The ground around the hatching-house should 
be made to slope away from it in every direction, 
and should this be, from the lay of the land, im- 
possible, wide ditches should be dug, of sufficient 
capacity to carry off all surface-water. Our old 
hatching-house was built at the foot of a hill, and 
more than once, during an unusually heavy sum- 
mer shower, have we found the water standing on 
the floor, once to the depth of nearly a foot. 

Unless the fish-farmer is abundantly supplied 
with cash, we would recommend that the hatching- 
house be built as plainly as possible. We have 
seen them of cut stone, with handsomely orna- 
mented cornices, but are not aware that the per- 
centage of spawn hatched in them was greater 
than that in other and more unpretending struct- 
ures. Inch hemlock with strips at the joints of 
the boards is all that is required, and a good and 
cheap roof may be made by covering boards with 
felt paper, on which is placed a good coat of plas- 
tic slate, or even thick mineral paint, well sanded. 
The roof should be perfectly water-tight, as the 



HATCHING-HOUSES AND APPARATUS. 55 

disturbance of the spawn by the dropping of water 
is apt to cause serious injury to them. A strong 
spring upon the door to prevent it from being care- 
lessly left open is of more consequence than may 
at lirst sight appear, as fowls and birds of all de- 
scriptions are very fond of the spawn, and will eat 
it upon every opportunity, probably taking it for 
some new species of grain. Rats and mice are 
sometimes very destructive, if they make their 
appearance late in the season, as may be known 
by finding of a morning the spawn piled in heaps, 
instead of lying neatly upon the tubes. The trays 
must be covered ; half-inch boards, cut to proper 
lengths and notched to admit the spouts, will an- 
swer well, and then poison the rats. Be not de- 
ceived by venders of nostrums — "Dead Shot," 
1 ' Sudden Death, " " Phosphorus Paste, "etc. We 
have fed rats and mice on these, and they seemed 
to enjoy them ; but arsenic and strychnine act, 
and act promptly, and no second dose is required. 
With any proper amount of care there is no danger 
of injury to outside animals. 

For conducting water from the spring to the fil- 
tering-box, iron pipe is the best. This can be ob- 
tained at a low cost,* and will last a life-time. 
Lead will, in some cases, affect the water, and terra 

* We can furnish it at five cents per pound. 



56 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

cotta can not be relied upon. It is but little 
cheaper than iron, when the cost and risks of trans- 
portation are taken into consideration, and we 
have known it to crumble from the action of 
frost. The supply pipe is the main artery of the 
hatching-house, and any derangement may cause 
the loss of hundreds of thousands of spawn. The 
spring end of this should project some distance 
into the water, that the supply may be of the 
purest, and a perforated filter should be attached 
to the end. Bored wooden pump logs are the 
worst means yet devised for conducting water, 
and should never be used, as we know by experi- 
ence. 

A two-inch pipe, with a fall of two feet, will 
supply ample water for the hatching of one hun- 
dred and fifty thousand spawn, if the trays be 
used. The trough system will require perhaps 
one of two and a half inches, or even larger. 

As previously mentioned, all water should be 
carefully filtered ; this is most conveniently done 
by means of the filtering-box, located at the ex- 
treme end of our hatching-house (Fig. 9), the 
water entering near the center of the box passes, 
first through haircloth or grasscloth, then through 
coarse, and afterward through fine flannel. A set 
of these is placed on each side of the pipe. Our 
method of attaching the flannel to the frames is 



HATCHING-HOUSES AND APPARATUS. 57 

somewhat peculiar. The old plan was to fasten 
them on with small tacks, but as the flannel 
rapidly rotted, it was a work of some time and 
labor to renew them. Our present plan is, to 
make two frames, fitting one within the other ; be- 
tween these the filters are fastened, in the manner 
of a drum head. They can readily be removed 
and washed, or, if necessary, replaced. 

No whitewash should be used in 01 on the build- 
ing ; a small fragment falling into the nursery 
trough might cause the death of thousands of 
young trout. Lime, in any form, seems to be 
peculiarly fatal to them, and must be avoided ; 
and no paint of any description should be placed 
on any wood work on which young fishes are to 
be kept. 

3* 



58 PEACTICAL TEOUT CULTUEE. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE SPAWNING RACE. 

Feom one of the simplest appendages to the 
ponds, the spawning race has of late become, per- 
haps, the most complicated. Its use is, of course, 
apparent to all. It is the place to which the fishes 
resort for the purpose of depositing their oya. In 
some cases this action upon their part is forestalled 
by the proprietor, and the result is artificial im- 
pregnation ; while in others, by means of screens, 
the eggs are collected and transported to the 
hatching-house, after having been fertilized with- 
out human intervention ; while in a third form, 
the fishes, after depositing their ova, are driven 
out, and the naturally impregnated spawn allowed 
to incubate in the gravel in which they were de- 
posited. 

Let us first glance at the operations of the trout 
while in a state of nature. In the months of No- 
vember or December, in our latitude (40-41°), the 
pregnant female, accompanied by her attendant 
male, seeks a shallow, shady spot, generally at 
the mouth of a small, cool stream, where the bot- 



THE SPAWNING EACE. 69 

torn is covered with fine gravel. Together they 
work, and by slow, but steady and oft-repeated 
sweeps of their tails, a hole of a circular form is 
excavated, varying from one to three feet in di- 
ameter, and from one to five inches in depth. 
This work being accomplished, they both remain 
perfectly quiet for some time, the period varying 
from a few minutes to several hours. During this 
time they appear almost entirely unconscious of 
the approach of their enemies, and may frequently 
be seized by the hand and captured without resist- 
ance. In fact, before the enactment of the present 
admirable laws, this was the favorite period of 
their capture, as a loop of wire, attached to the 
end of a short stick, was all that was required. 
Suddenly, however, the female bends her body 
into a curve, the tail and head elevated, and the 
abdomen pressed against the bottom of the exca- 
vation. On seeing this, the male at once takes his 
position at her side, his head being about even 
with her dorsal fin, both fishes heading down 
stream. Pressing her abdomen firmly upon the 
gravel, the female moves herself forward about 
one-third of her length, at the same time emitting 
a number of eggs. At once a few drops of milt 
are ejected by the male, and both back up stream 
to their former position. Again and again is this 
process repeated, until all the ova are deposited, 



60 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

when oth at once cover them with a few sweeps 
of their tails. 

It is rarely that the most practiced observer can 
see the ova emitted, his first knowledge of the fact 
being obtained by the clouding of the water by 
the ejected milt, which follows so instantaneously 
as at once to obstruct the view. 

Thus far, nature has done its work, and done it 
well ; but, alas ! the enemies, which nature sends, 
soon appear. Another pair of trout, seeking a 
spawning ground, may appear upon the field, and 
while excavating their own nest, discover the eggs 
deposited and impregnated by their predecessors, 
and regarding them as a savory morsel, at once 
eat them up before proceeding with their own 
work, which may, in turn, become the food of an- 
other happy pair. A duck or goose arriving on 
the ground, seems to recognize, by intuition, the 
precious deposit below; his head disappears be- 
neath the surface, his broad bill dips deep into 
the gravel, and the eggs pass into his voracious 
maw. A freshet may bring down upon the clean, 
shining gravel a mass of mud, covering up the 
spawn and depriving it of the oxygen so indispen- 
sable for its existence. But not only above the sur- 
face appear the enemies of the spawn ; others and 
more dangerous, being more concealed, are found 
below. The larvae of many insects are aquatic in 






THE SPAWNING EACE. 61 

their habits and carnivorous in their tastes, as has 
been ascertained by sad experience. Seventy thou- 
sand salmon spawn destroyed in one season by 
these minute pests, at Stormonfield, bear witness 
to the truth of this statement. And even in the 
eggs themselves lie a source of death. 

The dreaded byssus may appear, and there be- 
ing no one present to remove the infected spawn, 
the loss of the entire nest may ensue 

Having thus noticed the method of spawning 
when the trout are in their natural state, we learn 
by it the points necessary for the proper prepara- 
tion of the spawning races, and the dangers which 
surround the spawn after impregnation. The ob- 
ject of the fish culturist is to imitate the former 
and obviate the latter. The races should be at- 
tached to every pond, except that in which the 
youngest fishes are kept, and should be prepared 
with care, as the object will be to entice the trout 
into them, that the spawn may not be lost The 
sides should be of two thicknesses of brick, well 
laid in cement. We have tried earth, boards, 
slates, and other cheap substitutes, but have 
abandoned them all for the brick, which alone we 
have found to be reliable. We have known the 
water rushing through a knot-hole in a wooden 
side plank soon wear a hole in which a pair of 
fishes could and did readily conceal themselves. 



62 



PEAOTICAL TEOUT CULTUEE. 



As previously stated, no gravel, under any circum- 
stances, should be allowed in any pond, except 
that in which were placed the youngest fishes ; 
"but the bottom of the spawning race, of whatever 
character, should be well covered. Between the 
head of the race and the pond should be a fall of 
at least six inches, and should it be so great that 
it might be difficult for the fishes to ascend, re- 
course must be had to the fish ladder. This is 
readily formed by placing across the race boards 
equal in length to its width, and in width some- 
what greater than the depth of the water. Wide 
notches, varying in size according to the amount 

ru — 



Pig. 10.— Board for Fish Ladder. 

of water, should be cut in these near the end. 
These boards should be placed across the race, at 
distances determined by the height of the fall, and 
so arranged that the notches be on alternate sides 

A 



k._Ji 



c, 



Fig. 11.— Fish Ladder. 



of the stream. A plan of a ladder so arranged is 
to be seen in Fig. 11. 

A, A represent the sides of the race ; b, b, b, 



THE SPAWNING RACE. 63 

b, b, b, b the notched boards placed across the 
race, at right angles to the natural current ; c, c, 

c, c, c, c, c, c the notches through which the water 
flows, the dotted line indicating the direction of 
the current. It is thus readily seen that the fish, 
on passing through the notch, at once finds him- 
self in comparatively still water, and is thus able 
to rest himself and prepare for his ascent to the 
next pool. The boards may be held in place 
by a few twenty-penny nails, driven into the ce- 
ment between the bricks upon the lower side, the 
force of the current retaining them well in their 
places. 

Over the whole should be placed a cover. 
Loose boards have been much used, but we have 
objected to them from the time occupied«in remov- 
ing and replacing them. Covers formed of three- 
eighth inch pine boards, well-nailed to battens 
with wrought iron nails, and provided with hinges, 
pulleys, and a counterpoise weight, can be made 
to raise or lower at a touch. They are, it is 
true, somewhat more expensive than old odds and 
ends of hemlock boards, but when once made and 
thoroughly painted, will, if put away carefully at 
the end of the season, last a life-time. 

Having thus shown how the important requisites 
of shade, gravel, and easy access are afforded our 
fishes, we will next consider the four varieties 



64 PEACTICAL TEOITT CULTTJEE. 

of spawning races used in the natural impreg- 
nation of ova, reserving for another chapter the 
entire process of artificial fertilization. Long ere 
fish culture was oknwn and recognized as a science, 
it was the custom of many who owned trout 
ponds to allow the fishes, during the spawning 
season, access to the spring-head, and after all 
their spawn had been deposited they were driven 
back to the pond, and their return prevented by a 
screen. In some parts of our country, especially, 
we have understood, upon Long Island, series of 
ponds were constructed in pairs, as in the annexed 
cut. Let A represent the main pond, connected 
by a sluice with the pond B by means of a short 




Fig. 12. 

race-way and gate C, the water flowing from B to 
A. During the spawning season the gate (C) was 



THE SPAWNING RACE. 65 

opened, and the fishes ascended to B, the bottom 
of which was covered with clean, bright gravel. 
When the season was over the fishes were driven 
back to A, and the gate being closed, the spawn 
were allowed to hatch without disturbance. Being 
closely watched, all danger from aquatic birds was 
avoided, and thus two enemies of the spawn were 
removed, beside the young were protected for one 
year at least from the adults, whose love for their 
young has been previously noted. An improve- 
ment on this was suggested by an ingenious gentle- 
man (or rather, if all are to be believed, several 
gentlemen, for, like "Beautiful Snow," the inven- 
tion is claimed by more than one). A wire 
screen covered with gravel, arranged parallel with 
the bottom of the race, would allow the trout to 
deposit and naturally impregnate their spawn, 
which would then fall through the interstices of 
the wire gauze, of which the screen was composed, 
and thus at once be out of harm's way. This 
method has been found to succeed well ; but the 
spawn are still exposed to the dangers beneath. 
Where the eggs can pass, the larva of insects can 
pass, and the ravages of the byssus can neither be 
detected nor prevented. 

Thus far the process of both impregnation and 
incubation had been left to nature. That in the 
former she succeeded well there can be no doubt, 



PRACTICAL TROTTT CULTURE. 



but in the latter there was, to say the least, great 

room for improvement.* 
This improvement was made by Mr. Ainsworth 
by a most simple yet effective ar- 
rangement. A second screen of fine 
wire gauze was placed below the 
one previously used ; both screens 
were so arranged that they could 
be readily raised, the spawn collect- 
ed on the lower one, removed and 
transported to the hatching-house, 
where all hitherto concealed ene- 
mies could be detected and con- 
tended against ; and thus the happy 



« « 



£ a 



r r h 



* Let us here not be regarded as irreverent. 
None more than ourselves admire the works 
of the Creator and the wonders of his hand ; 
yet man is placed upon the earth to work. 
The crude material in small quantity is fur- 
nished him, and he must improve and increase 
it. The Creator gave the crab-apple, from it 
man has produced the Newtown Pippin; he 
causes the corn to grow, but man must manure 
and cultivate- it; he created upon the mount- 
ains of Persia a coarse, poisonous shrub, with 
fruit dangerous to life, yet from this, man, by 
work and a careful following out of the rules 
indicated by an observance of other works of 
the Creator, has derived the luscious peach. 
Hundreds of similar and well-known instances 
might be mentioned. Nature, to a certain 
point, does her work, but it is for man to com- 
plete it. 



THE SPAWNING RACE. 67 

combination of natural impregnation with artificial 
incubation was successfully accomplished. 

In regard to the impregnation of the ova, nothing 
more could be asked, yet there were some objec- 
tions to this form of race. In the first place, time 
and labor were required to raise the screens and 
remove the ova. Unless the sections were very 
small, the weight of frame, grating, and gravel 
were by no means light. The fishes must be 
driven from the race each time the eggs were taken, 
and, as previously mentioned, quiet is one of the 
requisites for successful natural impregnation ; the 
spawn at an early stage were subjected to rather 
rough handling ; and last, though not least, the 
hands of the operator were alternately immersed in 
comparatively warm water and suddenly exposed 
to the wintry air. 

Mr. A. S. Collins, the friend and partner of the 
redoubtable Seth, has invented and patented an 
arrangement by which all these evils are removed, 
and the fish culturist can now take and remove to 
his hatching-house his impregnated spawn without 
wetting his hands. This is indeed the luxury of 
fish-culture. The following is his description of 
his invention : 

The improvement consists in a new and conve- 
nient method of collecting the eggs. Fig. 14 repre- 
sents a small spawning box with a portion of the 



68 



PRACTICAL TROUT CULTUEE. 



side removed. Fig. 15 is an enlarged view of the 
front of the same box. At A is seen a donble row 
of coarse wire screens (three meshes to the inch), 
eight in number. Instead of being made singly, 




Fig. 14. 



each two feet square (as usually made), they are 
put together in one frame, eight feet by four. 
These screens are to be rilled with coarse gravel, 
and the eggs pass through, as in Ainsworth's 
screens. Under these is an endless apron of fine 
wire cloth (B), passing over rollers at the two ends 
of the box. This apron is about one inch beneath 
the upper screen, and is kept from sagging by 
small cross-bars (two of which are seen in the 
cut), corresponding to the divisions of the upper 
screen. 

These cross-bars are supported by, and, when 
the rollers are turned, slide on an inch square strip 



THE SPAWNING RACE. 



69 



nailed to the side of the box. A similar strip one 
inch above supports the larger screens. 

The cross-bars also keep the eggs from being car- 
ried down by the current. By rising two small 
beveled cog-wheels the front roller can be turned 
by the handle seen at Gr. As the roller is turned 
forward the endless apron moves with it, and the 
eggs, as they come to the edge of the roller, will 
fall off. The pan, C (Fig. 15), is placed in front of 
the roller, and receives the eggs as they fall. The 




Fig. 15. 



box need not be more than two feet deep ; the 
depth depending upon the size of the rollers, 
which, in a short race, may be quite small, and 
the box not more than eighteen inches deep. The 
box is set directly in the race-way, and intended to 
fill it completely. The water enters in the direction 



70 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

of the arrows, and may either enter with a fall over 
the top of the box, as seen in Fig. 14, or the top of 
the box may be cnt down nntil the water will enter 
on the level at which it is intended to stand over 
the screens. 

F (Fig. 14) is a screen intended to prevent the fish 
from running beyond the race, or getting into the 
lower part of the box. It may extend to the bot- 
tom, or be arranged as seen in the engraving. D 
is a screen at the front of the box, also intended to 
prevent the fish from getting below. When' the 
eggs are to be taken this screen is raised on hinges 
to an upright position, and confined by a spring 
catch or latch, as seen in E (Fig. 15). This con- 
fines the fish which may happen to be in the race, 
and none of them can get below. The pan is then 
lowered to its position, the roller turned, and the 
eggs taken. When the operation is finished, the 
screen (D) is again lowered, the button turned, and 
the work is done. If the box is wide, say four 
feet, it is more convenient to have the pan made in 
two or three sections, inserted in a light frame, as 
the eggs can be more easily carried in and poured 
out of a shorter pan. It is better, perhaps, to 
make the screen (D) to open in the middle, having 
hinges at both sides. Then one half will keep the 
fish in the pond, and the other half the fish in the 
race, from running into the well. The box can be 



THE SPAWNING RACE. 71 

made of any length from four feet to sixty feet, or 
even longer, and of any width from two feet to six 
or eight. If it is made very wide, an additional 
longitudinal support must be provided for the re- 
volving screen. We recommend the following 
dimensions for speckled trout races : two feet wide 
and from ten to twenty feet long ; or four feet wide 
and from twenty to forty feet long. The upper 
screens may be made in convenient sections, the 
whole width of the box, and six or eight feet long. 
The screens F and D are so made that while a 
full current is permitted to flow over the upper 
screens (A), only a gentle current can flow through 
the under part of this box. This current is meant 
to be so regulated that when the pan (C) is placed 
about an inch from the turning roller, all the small 
stones which the trout may whip through the up- 
per screen will fall short of the pan ; the eggs, 
being lighter, will be carried by the current into 
the pan, while a great part of the dirt, etc., which 
may collect on the under screen will be carried up 
over the pan and entirely out of the box. The 
revolving screen may be made of tarred muslin or 
mosquito netting. But wire cloth (of ten or twelve 
meshes to the inch) keeps much the cleanest, and 
we are inclined to think it best for the purpose. We 
make our aprons half wire cloth and half tarred 
muslin, furnishing the wire only with cross-bars 



72 PRACTICAL TEOUT CULTURE. 

and always leaving it uppermost. This apron is 
fastened around the rollers by a lacing of cord. 
At the end of the season the water in the pond can 
be drawn down a foot and everything taken ont 
but the rollers. Give the screens a coat of paint or 
gas tar, and lay them away in a dry place until 
the next autumn. A stiff brush may also be placed 
under the forward roller, so that every time the 
roller is turned to remove the eggs, the screen will 
be perfectly cleaned. 

The box can be so arranged that the rollers also 
can be removed each season, but as this involves 
extra trouble and expense, and as the axles of the 
rollers and even the cog-wheels can be made of 
hard wood (little strain coming upon them), we 
generally leave the rollers in through the season. 

This box looks at first sight somewhat compli- 
cated, but is in reality very simple and easier to 
make than to describe. Any one who has the 
knack of using tools can make one which will 
answer the purpose perfectly. The cost is very 
little more than that of the Ainsworth screens (of 
the same area) as generally used. The cost for 
wire being the same in both cases, the lumber in 
the box itself being extra, and also the rollers, 
hinges, and cog-wheels (or windlass wheel). 

A few of the advantages of the plan are as fol- 
lows : Let us compare a double row of forty Ains- 



THE SPAWNING EACE. 73 

worth screens, each two feet square and occupying 
a space in the race-way forty feet long and four 
feet wide, with one of the new spawning-boxes of 
the same dimensions. 

1st. By the old way it would take two men a 
good half day to remove the screens singly, feather 
off the eggs in a careful manner, and return each 
(double) screen to its proper place. 

It would take the new spawning-box about fif- 
teen minutes to do the same work with one man. 

2d. The weight of the gravel which has to be lifted 
in the old way every time the eggs are removed, 
amounts to man}' - tons in the course of a season. 

In the new box the gravel is not lifted at all. 

3d. By the old way the operator' s hands must 
of necessity be more or less wet during the whole 
operation. Now, as the trout and salmon spawn 
during the winter season, when the thermometer 
generally stands below the freezing point, taking 
eggs in the old way is not only inconvenient and 
painful, but often impossible. 

By the new way the hands are not made wet and 
may be kept comfortably gloved. 

4th. By the old way more or less of the eggs are 
lost by careless feathering, exposing the eggs to 
the freezing atmosphere, clumsiness in handling 
the screens (caused b^ cold fingers), tipping of the 
screens, wash of the current, etc., etc. 

4 



74 PRACTICAL TEOUT CULTURE. 

By the new way every egg is saved. 

5th. By the old method every fish is driven ont 
of the race when the eggs are taken. Some of 
them will not return, bnt will seek a spawning 
place in the pond, and many eggs will be unavoid- 
ably lost. 

By the new way the fish are not driven from the 
race. And as the boxes are always covered dur- 
ing the season, the fish will not even be disturbed. 
In fact, they may spawn while the eggs are being 
taken, and yet not a single egg be lost. 

This race has been tested with the greatest care, 
and the results have been favorable in every case. 
In many establishments where the Ainsworth race 
had been used, it has been superseded by the 
Collins, and tales marvelous even to the piscicul- 
turist, whose ears are well accustomed to "fish 
stories," have been told of its merits. By it the 
greatest difficulties of fish culture are met and con- 
quered, though many still remain to be contended 
against. Yet, with us, we still hold to artificial 
impregnation, believing that by it we can obtain 
the best results. By long (and sometimes sad) ex- 
perience we have gained a delicacy of touch and 
facility of manipulation which, with us, needs 
nothing more to be desired. During the first sea- 
son we have hatched from eggs impregnated by 
hand over ninety-five per cent, of the spawn taken, 



THE SPAWNING RACE. 75 

and we desire nothing better. Yet, we fully be- 
lieve that, had we been possessed at the commence- 
ment of our piscicultural career of the Collins 
race, our fishes would have exceeded by ten-fold 
their present numbers. We regard it as only sec- 
ond in importance to the shad hatching-box of 
Seth Green. 



76 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 



CHAPTER YI. 

ARTIFICIAL IMPREGNATION. 

As stated in the last chapter, we still hold, for 
reasons there mentioned, to artificial impregnation, 
believing that in our hands, at least, that a larger 
percentage of spawn can be properly and thor- 
oughly impregnated than by any race, however 
ingeniously contrived. It is about the first of 
November that female fishes make their first ap- 
pearance in our race.* Males have appeared some 
weeks earlier, but the average of several seasons 
fixes November 1 as the period at which the 
females ready to spawn first appear. The fishes 
in this condition are technically called ripe ; and a 
singular change has taken place in the form and 
color since the previous spring. The females, in- 
stead of the bright colors in which they formerly 
appeared, have become sombre in hue, putting on, 
as one author has expressed it, a grave and ma- 
tronly attire, the abdomen being greatly distended 

* To prevent misunderstanding we would mention that the word 
" race," as used by us, means simply the one with gravel-covered 
bottom. If screened races are intended, the words Collins or Ains- 
worth will be used. 



ARTIFICIAL IMPREGNATION. 77 

with eggs. The section of the body taken just 
behind the dorsal fin would be an oval, ■ Her 
movements are slow and sluggish. In the male, 
however, the reverse is the case. The colors, espe- 
cially of the fins and abdomen, are far more bril- 
liant than at any time ; in flesh he has sensibly 
diminished in weight, and from this cause his jaws, 
especially the lower one, appear to be unusually 
prominent, and frequently a curved knob-like pro- 
jection appears at the point. This has been noticed 
and commented on by an English writer as a won- 
drous adaptation of means to ends, enabling the 
fish to excavate the nest and cover the impregnated 
spawn with more facility, but as the tail is the 
only organ used for this purpose, some other use 
for this appendage must be found. There is no 
difficulty in distinguishing the sexes ; a cock and 
hen are no more unlike than a male and female 
trout during the spawning season ; at other times 
they assimilate more in shape and hue. 

To properly remove the fish from the race that 
they may be manipulated, is a matter of great mo- 
ment. They should be touched by hand as little 
as possible. And here let me mention that there 
are but two portions of the body of the trout where 
pressure even of a moderate character can be ap- 
plied without injury. The first is directly behind 
the gills, on the strong, bony arches which are 



78 PKACTICAL TEOUT CULTTJEE. 

there found ; the other, the tail, behind the vent. 
In front of the former, pressure is made upon the 
gills, the organs of respiration, the most delicate 
portion of the fish's system, while compression 
anterior to the vent may cause rupture of the air- 
bladder or other viscera, which would of course 
result in death. We have examined numbers of 
fishes which have died after having been improp- 
erly handled, and death has been found invariably 
to have arisen from one or the other of these 
causes. The race should have a fall of at least six 
inches in twenty feet; and by placing a bag or 
clap-net at the lower end, and shutting off the 
water at the upper, the water will run off, and to 
avoid being left high and dry the fishes will rush 
down stream and be taken in the net. During the 
past season another plan has been adopted at 
Troutdale. A hole some two feet in diameter and 
eight inches in depth was dug at the lower end of 
the race, into which the trout rush on the stoppage 
of the water by means of the gate. The object of 
this is that in case a large number of fishes should 
be in the race they need not all be at once removed, 
but are taken from the hole as wanted with a 
scoop-net. From the net they are transferred to 
broad, shallow tubs — such as are used for bathing 
infants answer well ; two of these are required, as 
the separation of the males and females facilitates 



ARTIFICIAL IMPREGNATION. 79 

greatly the handling of the fishes. The operator 
loses no time (which, with the thermometer at 
zero, is doubly precious) in selecting his subjects 
for operation. The form of the pan in which the 
impregnation is to be accomplished is a matter of 
little moment. It has been done in the top of a tin 
wash boiler ; yet some suggestions on this point 
may be important. "Whatever is used it must be 
thoroughly clean ; a drop of grease will prevent 
the fertilization of thousands of spawn ; it must be 
smooth, as the freshly- taken spawn may be killed 
by coming in contact with any rough surface. 
Perhaps the best articles for the purpose are china 
soup-plates of the largest obtainable size. These 
will hold about one thousand eggs each. The only 
objection to their use is the ease with which they 
are broken ; and a good, new, well-polished tin 
basin ten inches in diameter and three deep will, if 
kept clean, answer the same purpose, with less 
danger of breakage. If it is desired to know at 
once the number of spawn taken, it is readily 
ascertained by having a depression sunk in the 
bottom of the pan eight inches long, five wide, and 
one-sixth of an inch in diameter; this will hold 
one thousand average spawn. All things being 
ready, the pan is filled to about one-third of its 
capacity with pure water, and a female is taken 
and held in the position represented in Fig. 16, the 



80 



PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 



right hand grasping the head, the pressure of the 
thumb and forefinger falling just behind the gills. 




Fig. 16. 



The effect of this will be that the eggs, acted 
upon both by gravity and the muscular contrac- 
tion induced by the position, will fall downward 
toward the vent, and sometimes a few will be 
ejected ; it is therefore well to hold the fish above 
the impregnating pan, that all ova may be saved. 

The method of holding the female during the 
process of artificial spawning varies greatly with 
different operators. Each of course prefers his 
own plan, yet in principle all are the same. The 
eggs, it must be remembered, are not squeezed out, 
as is the general impression among those but little 



ARTIFICIAL IMPREGNATION. 



81 



acquainted with the subject ; but the fish is held in 
such a position (Fig. 17 represents the position which 
we have found most convenient) that the eggs nat- 
urally flow from the vent. It will be seen that the 
fish is bent somewhat in the form of the letter S, the 
right and left hands being respectively placed on 
the head and tail, with the thumbs and forefingers 




Fiq. 17. 



pressing upon .those parts where, as previously 
mentioned, pressure can be made without injury. 
With a left-handed person the position of the 
hands is of course reversed. If on holding the fish 
in the proper position no eggs appear, the belly 
may be gently stroked from above downward with 
the forefinger of the right hand, and if the eggs are 
still retained, the fish should be returned to the 
water, as she is either diseased or unripe, in either 
of which cases the eggs would be useless. If, how- 

4* 



82 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

ever, the eggs flow freely, the curve is to be grad- 
ually increased until they have ceased to flow, 
when, by the gentle motion of the forefinger, the 
few remaining in the cavity of the abdomen may 
be safely forced out. When the spawn of one 
female is taken, they should at once be impreg- 
nated by treating the male fish in the same manner 
— milt instead of spawn being emitted. It is rec- 
ommended by some authors that the male be first 
taken, for the reason that he is more unmanageable 
than the female, but we have found on experiment 
that the eggs are better impregnated when they 
are taken first. If there be a scarcity of males (no 
uncommon occurrence toward the end of the sea- 
son), use only water enough in the pan to eover 
the eggs. The milt having been emitted upon the 
spawn, they should be stirred gently with a feather, 
or, better still, with the tail of the male fish. Some 
care is here required, as too energetic stirring will 
destroy the new life which has but just been im- 
parted ; but if the eggs be not stirred, a large per- 
centage will fail to impregnate. From careful 
observations we have found that the ratio of non- 
impregnation between stirred and non-stirred eggs 
was as five to forty. If the eggs be examined at 
once, they will be found to be wrinkled, the 
shell or enveloping membrane being apparently 
much too large for the contents ; but immediately 



ARTIFICIAL IMPREGNATION. 83 

upon coming in contact with the water, absorption 
takes place through the membrane, in a manner 
known to scientists as "endosmosis," and the eggs 
rapidly assume a full, round, and plump figure. 
It is during this absorption that the spermatozoa, 
with which the milt of the male is filled, pass in 
with the water and vitalize the egg. It is therefore 
evident that after the absorption has once taken 
place, any attempt at fertilization would be useless. 
The spawn, until the process of absorption is fin- 
ished, adhere to each other and to the bottom of 
the pan. It was formerly supposed, and we our- 
selves have repeatedly stated it, that the spawn 
were agglutinated together by means of a gummy 
substance insoluble in water, and only soluble in 
the milt of the male. This, recent observation has 
proved to be a mistake. The egg membrane not 
being filled, the sides are flattened by pressure 
against each other, and adhere by cohesive attrac- 
tion ; when full, this surface is reduced to mini- 
mum, and the eggs are readily separated. This 
.freeing of the spawn, as it is termed, shows that 
absorption has been finished, and that they have 
obtained all the vitalization which they are capable 
of receiving. The experiments of Mr. Vrasski 
upon this subject are excessively interesting. His 
first essays were upon the system laid down in the 
primitive French works upon fish culture, in which 



84 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

the eggs and milt were obtained in separate vessels 
of water and afterward mixed. The result, as 
might be premised, was anything but satisfactory. 
A careful series of examinations and experiments 
showed him that the spermatozoa of the milt upon 
being placed in cold water survived only but a few 
moments, many dying at the expiration of a min- 
ute and a half, while at the end of five minutes not 
one was left alive. The period during which ab- 
sorption was taking place was about half an hour. 
He now takes his spawn dry, pours upon them the 
pure milt, and with this most novel and most un- 
natural method has obtained the most gratifying 
results. The. milt of one male will impregnate 
thousands of spawn. Mr. Thaddeus Norris men- 
tions in his "American Fish Culture" (page 54) a 
case in which Mr. Ainsworth fertilized as many 
eggs as would cover the bottom of his pan (dimen- 
sions of pan unfortunately not given) with a single 
drop of milt. And Spallanzani records a similar 
instance. Yet it is well that plenty should be 
taken. Barren males, whose milt is only to be 
distinguished from that of their prolific neighbors 
by the aid of the microscope, are by no means 
rare, and it is well to always be upon the safe side. 
Enough should be taken to render the water opal- 
escent or pearly in hue. 
During the process of absorption the water in the 



ARTIFICIAL IMPREGNATION". 85 

pan should be kept at an even temperature. The 
nursery troughs in our hatching-house are well 
suited for this purpose, keeping it at the constant 
temperature of 50°. Be in no hurry to transfer 
the eggs from the pan to the hatching troughs or 
trays — the process of impregnation is soon accom- 
plished ; but the eggs are very easily injured at 
this period ; and when the temperature of the 
water can be kept constant, half an hour's repose 
should be allowed them before the transfer takes 
place ; then gently pour them, after thorough 
washing, on the spots where they are for some time 
to remain. Should they be heaped, gently, with a 
feather, or better still, a broad camel's hair brush, 
distribute them evenly upon the grille of the tray 
or the gravel of the trough. The washing is not 
absolutely necessary for the health of the spawn ; 
yet the water being rendered somewhat opaque 
by the milt, its removal will enable the operator 
to see his way much more clearly. The eggs 
should so lie that they in no case be heaped one 
upon the other. Touching does no harm, but we 
have in many cases found heaping fatal. In mov- 
ing the eggs we again say, be gentle ; the time will 
come in the life of the egg when it will bear rough 
handling, even the handling of the express agent, 
whose mercies are by no means tender ; but the 
time is not yet. Gentle movement beneath the 



86 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

water with feather or brush they will stand, but a 
sudden jar is to them at this age certain death. 
We have known a pan-full of eggs to be destroyed 
by the slipping of the feet of the operator and the 
knocking of the pan against the side of the hatch- 
ing-house. We have frequently endeavored to 
transport freshly impregnated ova for the benefit 
of friends who were desirous of studying their de- 
velopment ; we have packed them with the greatest 
care, carried the vessel in which we had placed 
them in our hands, and, in short, taken every pos- 
sible precaution, but in every case miserable fail- 
ure was the result. Ten days after impregnation 
is the earliest period at which we have been enabled 
to save even a small percentage after a short jour- 
ney. The only method we can suggest for this 
purpose is the transportation of the parent fishes 
and performing impregnation upon the spot. This 
difficulty of obtaining early spawn has greatly re- 
tarded the study of the embryology of fishes in our 
country; and should a plan be devised for their 
removal, a great impetus would be at once given 
to original research in this most interesting branch 
of natural history. 



INCUBATION. 87 



CHAPTER VII. 



INCUBATION. 



We will suppose that our spawn has been taken 
with all possible care and safely deposited in the 
hatching-house, that the supply of water is ample 
and of equable temperature, and that filtering ap- 
paratus, stop-cocks, and other accessories are in 
perfect order. Yet still we must not feel too sure 
of a happy and successful result. Until at least 
seven days have elapsed, we know of no means, 
even with the microscope, of positively deciding 
between impregnated and non-impregnated spawn. 
"Never count your chickens before they are 
hatched,'* is a proverb which must be borne in 
mind ; the character and standing of more than 
one fish culturist has suffered from a contrary 
course. The crop is at best a somewhat uncertain 
one, especially in inexperienced hands. All con- 
tracts for "yet to be" fishes or spawn should be 
made with the proviso, "if on hand." We have 
known all the eggs of a large fish to fail in im- 
pregnating ; and those taken from fishes of over a 

und weight obtained from other waters must 
always be regarded with suspicion. We have 



88 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

found that large females, as a rule, "become "barren 
from a change of locality ; and in all cases the 
operator is most successful with those raised in 
his own waters, in fact "to the manor "born." A 
careful daily inspection of the entire crop on hand 
must be made ; every egg should "be examined 
and the dead ones removed. As no sunlight 
should be allowed to enter the hatching-house, a 
small bull' s-eye lantern, or one furnished with a 
parabolic reflector, will greatly facilitate opera- 
tions. In this stage the benefits of the hatching- 
tray are plainly recognized. All dead spawn must 
at once be removed ; they may readily be recog- 
nized in the trays, as their dead alabaster white 
color contrasts strongly with the black of the box 
seen through the transparent tubes, or the pearly 
translucent hue of the healthy spawn ; but in the 
gravel troughs the case is different — the gravel 
itself is of the color of deceased eggs, and by form 
alone can they be distinguished. Again, some 
may be buried beneath the gravel, and thus escape 
observation until serious harm may occur. But 
wherever they may be situated, the dead eggs 
must be removed daily. The shell of the egg is 
very slippery, so much so that it is almost impos- 
sible to remove them with the fingers, and as dead 
spawn are unfortunately of frequent occurrence, 
numerous instruments have been devised for their 



INCUBATION. 



89 



removal ; several of those formerly in use are 
shown in Fig. 18. 




Fig. 18. 



A is a pair of pincers with pointed blades ; B 
is a pipette, while C is a scoop to be placed be- 
neath the egg, which is to be thrown out by a sud- 
den turn of the wrist. We have tried all these, 
and found them slow and by no means sure. The 
object should be to remove the dead spawn with- 
out disturbing others in the vicinity ; with B and 
C this can not be done, and the difficulty of man- 
: pulation of A is much greater than would be im- 

ined. We felt the necessity of some new instru- 
ment for the purpose, and finally suggested the 
bulb-syringe (Fig. 19). This has been adopted by 
most of our many American fish culturists, and 
has given the most perfect satisfaction. It consists 



90 



PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 



of an india-rubber bnlb (A) about three inch.es in 
length by one and a half in diameter. To this is 




Fig. 19. 



attached a curved pipe (B) ; by slightly compress- 
ing the bulb with the hand, the contained air is 
forced out, and by placing the nozzle near the 
dead spawn, and relaxing the grasp, the egg is 
driven toward the tip of the pipe, which is hol- 
lowed for that purpose, and retained in position 
by the pressure of the external air. Dirt of any 
kind — and dirt will find its way into the boxes 
spite of all our precautions — may be removed in 
the same manner. On a trial against time, by 
our superintendent, one hundred and fifty-four 
dead spawn were removed from a tray in one min- 
ute with one of these little instruments. 

All who have obtained the least smattering 
of piscicultural lore are acquainted, at least by 
name, with the byssus — that terror of fish cultur- 
ists, regarded by them as a devastating blight, 
a pestilence walking in darkness, an unprevent- 
able and incurable disease, liable at any time 
to attack and destroy an entire crop of eggs, 



INCUBATION. 91 

against which no precautions can avail, and for 
which no remedy can be devised. The word is 
applied to two very different vegetable growths, 
the one appearing upon wood when immersed for 
the first time in the water, — a gelatinoid substance 
of disgusting appearance, but doing no possible 
harm. "We have hatched spawn surrounded on 
all sides by this much-dreaded material, the ap- 
pearance of which can be easily prevented by 
coating all wood- work with black asphalt varnish, 
or by charring. As the charring of the hatching- 
troughs by fire has been made the subject of a 
patent, and from ten to twenty-five dollars is 
charged for the privilege, it may be well to men- 
tion that strong oil of .vitriol will carbonize the 
surface of wood in a very satisfactory manner. 
Small articles may be dipped in it, or, if the object 
is too large, it may be rubbed with a swab ; the 
surface should then be washed thoroughly with a 
mixture of one ounce of salaratus to a quart of 
water, and afterward laid for some days in a run- 
ning stream. On this there is no patent. The 
true byssus, however, is a different substance, 
though also of vegetable character, and will, under 
certain circumstances, attack and destroy spawn ; 
but it will not at first appear unless upon an egg 
which has been dead for at least twenty-four 
hours. It is of a filamentous character, and the 



92 PEACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

infested egg may be said to resemble a minute ball 
of cotton. Fig. 20, from the work of M. Coste, 
gives an exact idea of its appearance. Should 






Fig. 20. 

this not be in time removed, it will become the 
focus of contagion, the byssus will spread from it 
as a center, and, attacking the living eggs in the 
vicinity, soon involve them all in a common death. 
The remedy for this is simple. As has been pre- 
viously insisted on, remove daily all dead eggs, 
and no nucleus of contagion can form. The bys- 
sus is a proof of ignorance or neglect upon the 
part of the person in charge. It is probable that 
this is one of the greatest causes of loss in natural 
incubation, as in that case no remedy can be 
devised. 

"We have met with severe loss from mice and 
rats, but by covering the boxes these pests can be 
readily kept off and a few well-poisoned candles 
will soon destroy them. In fact, whenever poison 
is to be used for the destruction of vermin, the 
poisoned candles will be found the most safe and 
convenient method of administration. We have 
seen them offered for sale, but having found some 



INCUBATION- . 93 

difficulty in obtaining them of late, have been 
in the habit of preparing them ourselves by slight- 
ly warming a common tallow dip and dusting 
strychnine over the surface. The advantage of 
applying it in this manner is that candles are not 
affected as food by either human beings or domes- 
tic animals, and that thus the danger always to 
be dreaded when using virulent poisons is almost 
entirely avoided. If, on examining the trays, the 
spawn which was left neatly arranged decently 
and in order upon the grilles, is found heaped or 
disturbed, the presence of rats or mice may be 
suspected. 

The study of the development of the fish in the 
egg, from the first day of incubation to the emerg- 
ence of the young fish, is one of great interest, 
though in our own country but little has been 
done in this direction, few to whom the opportu- 
nity is given having the time, patience, or scientific 
knowledge necessary. The work of Mr. Vogt* 
contains all that is known upon the subject, and 
to this we must refer the scientific fish culturist, 
confining ourselves only to those changes which 
appear to the naked eye, or beneath the power of 
an ordinary lens of from one to two inches focus. 
For examination the eggs should be placed in a 

* Embrydlogie des Salmones, 8vo, with Atlas folio. Neufchatel, 1842. 



94 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

thin homeopathic vial of water, and held between 
the observer and the light. Bright sunlight should 
be avoided, the best illumination being given by 
the reflection of the sun's rays from a white cloud. 
When first placed in the tray, the entire egg is 
filled with a gelatinous substance, on which float 
minute granules and oil globules. Turn the egg 
as you will, and still they will rise to the top. No 
trace of division between the yolk and white ap- 
pears until the second day, when the granules and 
globules will be found to have separated them- 
selves into a minute drop in the center of the 
egg, surrounded on all sides by a transparent, 
colorless zone, in which it freely floats. About 
the fifth day a small prominence will appear upon 
the top of this yolk, which will increase in size 
daily. About the twelfth day an indentation may 
be observed in this protuberance, and an almost 
imperceptible line will be seen running from it. 
Daily with the naked eye, and hourly beneath 
the microscope, this line will be seen to increase in 
length and breadth. It is the chorda dor sails or 
spinal cord, the rudiment of the nervous system 
of the future fish. About the eighteenth day it 
has extended around one-half the yolk, one end 
destined to form the tail being pointed, while the 
other, forming the head, is flattened and thick- 
ened. On the twentieth day the eyes appear, and 



INCUBATION. 95 

from this time the growth of the fish is rapid; 
At the temperature of 50° the eggs hatch in from 
forty-five to fifty days — this period is lengthened 
by a lower, and accelerated by a higher tempera- 
ture. 

A short time previous to hatching, the investing 
membrane of the egg becomes yellowish-brown 
in color, and a floss-like coating envelops it, re- 
minding one by its appearance of the much- 
dreaded byssus. The movements of the fish, 
which may have been noted as early as the 
thirtieth day, become more and more rapid. The 
previously noticed movements were gentle mo- 
tions of the tail, but now the whole body seems 
violently convulsed. At length, with a violent 
effort, the shell is broken, and the little fish is 
born. What part first appears to the external 
world is a matter of perfect indifference. We well 
remember the consternation of one of our custom- 
ers on the occasion of a whole tray of eggs hatch- 
ing tail foremost, when the only work on fish cul- 
ture in his possession, and in which he had placed 
the most implicit confidence, declared that the 
head invariably appeared first. By concentrating 
flpon the mature egg the sun's rays, by means of 
a lens, the birth may be hastened, and the efforts 
of the fish, by which the shell is ruptured, plainly 
seen. This can only be done as an experiment, as 



3 PEACTTCAL TROUT CULTURE. 

the forced birth is generally fatal to the fish. 
Head, tail, back, and even the yolk sac may first 
appear. After breaking the shell it frequently 
happens that before emerging entirely the troutlet 
rests for a short time, apparently for the pur- 
pose of regaining its strength exhausted by its 
labors. Some writers have recommended that the 
shell be removed in this case, by gently passing 
over the body of the fish a fine camel hair brush. 
This, in our hands, has not been successful, med- 
dlesome midwifery being followed by its usual 
results. If the fishes are strong and healthy they 
will in time clear themselves, and if not, they will 
surely die in a short time. 

The egg shells having fulfilled the purpose for 
which they were designed, become dirt; and if 
the gravel troughs are used must be carefully 
picked out with the bulb syringe, as by their de- 
composition the health of the young fry may be 
seriously affected. If the Caron trays be used, 
they are for the most part carried away by the 
current through some fall between the interstices 
of the tubes. The young fish moves along the 
grille until finding an opening large enough to 
admit of the passage of his body, he falls through 
to the tray beneath ; and by removing the cork at 
the end of the tray can be drawn off into a pan. 
In this operation the utmost delicacy is required. 



INCUBATION. 97 

The membrane of the sac is scarcely thicker than 
a spider's web, and as easily ruptured. With the 
fishes will be carried by the water into the pan 
egg shells and other dirt. By careful manipula- 
tion the lighter dirt may be floated off, and the re- 
mainder must be picked out with the bulb syringe. 
Remember that three weeks at least must elapse 
before the gravel upon which the young are placed 
can be washed, and that every particle of dirt 
must be scrupulously removed. If no nursery 
trough has been provided, the fishes may be 
reared for some time in the tray. For this the 
grille is removed, the box thoroughly washed, and 
the bottom covered with fine gravel — not only 
washed, but boiled, that all larvae of insects may 
be destroyed. Upon this should the troutlets be 
placed, and a gentle current of water allowed to 
flow over them. Should, however, nursery-troughs 
have been provided, they may be prepared in the 
same manner, taking care that the wood work be 
not only washed, but scalded. Our nursery- 
troughs are thirty feet long, fourteen inches wide, 
and three deep. By screens of fine copper wire 
gauze, or iron well coated with asphalt varnish, 
they are divided into compartments one foot 
in length, each compartment being of sufficient 
capacity for the accommodation of fifteen hun- 
dred fishes, though one thousand only are usually 

5 



98 PEACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

placed in them. The supply of water must be 
carefully regulated ; if too strong a current is in- 
duced, the fish will be carried against the dividing 
screens and destroyed ; the amount in every case 
can only be ascertained by experiment. Com- 
mence by occupying the uppermost divisions ; the 
great importance of this will be seen when we treat 
of the care of the young. 






CARE OF YOUNG IN' HATCHING-HOUSE. 99 



CHAPTER VIII. 

CARE OF YOUNG IN HATCHING-HOUSE. 

The appearance of the young trout when first 
emerged from the egg is grotesque and curious in 
the extreme. A thin, semi-transparent line about 
three-quarters of an inch in length, one end 
pointed, the other knotted and furnished with two 
comparatively enormous eyes widely separated 
from each other, compose the body of the fish. To 
the lower portion of this body, extending from the 




Fie. 21.— Tbout at Bibth. 

throat backward to fully one-half its length, is a 
huge, vascular, transparent sac covered with a fine 
net-work of blood-vessels through which the blood 
may be seen flowing, all tending from a minute deep 
crimson red spot, the heart of the little fish. No 
traces of fins except the pectoral are to be seen ; the 



100 PEACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

gill-covers have not yet appeared, and four lines on 
either side of the throat represent the future gills. 
The motions of the little creature are slow ; borne 
down by the weight of his, huge appendage, com- 
monly known as the umbilical vessicle, but more 
properly as the yolk sac, he seeks quiet and 
hides himself among the gravel. Strange as the 
sac may appear to others, to him it is a matter 
of vital importance. It is the food upon which he 
is nourished during the first six weeks of his ex- 
istence. He requires no other, will accept of 
none ; but hides himself from view and only de- 
sires to be severely let alone. 

But the labors of the fish culturist know no 
rest. Many at this stage may die, and some surely 
will. Daily must the nursery be thoroughly ex- 
amined and all dead removed. The bulb syringe 
here again comes into play. To facilitate the ex- 
amination of the troughs, a watch-maker's mag- 
nifying glass, firmly attached to the eye by a 
broad india-rubber band passing around the fore- 
head, will be found of great service. Care and at- 
tention is now absolutely necessary ; neglect will 
certainly be followed by heavy loss — the dreaded 
byssus forming upon all dead animal matter and 
filling the waters with its almost imperceptible 
fibers. To aid its feeble respiration, the pectoral 
fins of the young fish are in constant, rapid mo- 



CAKE OF YOUNG IN IIATCHING-IIOUSK 101 

tion, driving the water toward its as yet unpro- 
tected gills. Should the libers of the byssus be 
present, they are driven directly into the gills, res- 
piration is impeded, and the fish dies. A warm 
hatching-house, dry floor, and bulb syringe, com- 
bined with a keen eye and patience, are now all 
necessary. As the fishes increase in size they may 
be more plainly seen, but the care and attention 
now commenced will be constantly required until 
the fishes are removed to the pond. 

At the end of the fifth week of life the appear- 
ance of the fish is as in Fig. 22. The yolk sac is 




Fig. 22. 



still present, though its dimensions have been 
greatly reduced. The fins may be all plainly seen, 
and even their rays counted. The gills are entirely 
covered by the gill-covers, and, in short, the 
whole appearance is more fishlike than that of the 
nondescript of Fig. 21. From this period the sac 
rapidly diminishes, but it is not until from the 
forty-fifth to the fiftieth day after hatching that it 
is entirely absorbed, and the fish emerges into the 



102 PEACTIOAL TEOUT CULTURE. 

full glory of trouthood, becoming an independent 
member of the great animal kingdom, and experi- 
encing the sensation of hunger which must be ap- 
peased. 

And- now for the first time we encounter the food 
question, that great problem on which depends, 
in a great measure, the future success of fish 
culture. This has been at length solved for the 
troutlet, while for the adult a proper, cheap, and 
healthful food is still a thing of the future. In 
nature the troutlets are provided with food by the 
numerous larvae and adult insects which abound 
in all waters, as is shown by examination of their 
stomachs ; but these it is as yet beyond our power 
to procure, and we, at best, can only provide a 
substitute. Curd, that universal food of theoret- 
ical fish-farmers, has been tried both by ourselves 
and others, and in many cases has acted as an act- 
ual poison, one gentleman having lost five thou- 
sand fishes, before the cause of death was sus- 
pected, the mortality ceasing on a proper food be- 
ing supplied. Boiled yolk of egg has been highly 
recommended, but is objectionable on account 
of the great amount of deleterious gases evolved 
by its putrefaction. Boiled meats have been used 
with success after having been pressed and grated, 
but by, boiling much of the nutritive material is 
lost. After giving all these and many other sub- 



CARE OF YOUNG IN HATCHING-HOUSE. 103 

stances a fair trial, by feeding them alternately to 
our fry and carefully noting the result, we at 
length devised a plan which in our hands, and in 
the hands of all who have tried it, has thus far 
succeeded perfectly. 

A beef's heart or kidney is taken, and with a 
sharp knife cut in pieces about an inch square. 
If heart is used, all skin, arteries, valves, and 
other fibrous portions which can not "be readily 
cut are rejected. The pieces are then moistened 
with water and chopped to a pulp. This was for- 
merly done with a hatchet and knife — a work of 
no small labor. "We now accomplish it by means 
of the "American Chopper," of which a cut is 
annexed (Fig. 23). 




Fig. 23. 



We have tried other choppers, but this alone 
has given perfect satisfaction. Not only is the 
meat thoroughly, quickly, and minutely chopped, 
but the machine is simple, not liable to get out of 



104 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

order, and can be in a moment taken apart and 
cleaned — a matter of no small importance in hot 
weather. A pound of heart can "be cut by this 
in about seven minutes sufficiently fine for the 
smallest trout. Should any coagulated blood be 
found in the heart, it may be thrown into the 
chopper with it. Yet, still some minute fragments 
of fibrous tissue may remain, and to remove these, 
as well as to be sure that all the meat is chopped 
sufficiently fine, the pulp is mixed with water and 
washed (not rubbed) through a fine wire sieve of 
twenty-eight threads to the inch. By this means 
all fragments over about one-fiftieth of an inch in 
diameter are retained and may be returned to the 
chopper for further comminution. Copper wire 
for the sieve is objectionable, as the oxide or rust, 
which forms rapidly upon it in the damp atmos- 
phere of the hatching-house, will act as a direct 
poison upon the young fishes. The same fault is 
found in brass. Iron rusts rapidly if not cleaned 
and dried with the greatest care. We have found 
the tinned iron to answer well if well washed and 
dried after use. One piece will last a season. 

After washing through the sieve, allow the pulp 
to stand for a few minutes, and the meat will have 
settled to the bottom of the pan ; pour off the 
clear water and the meat is. ready to be fed to the 
young fishes. But in the feeding great care must 



CARE OF YOUNG IN HATCHING-HOUSE. 105 

be exercised. Enough must be given to satisfy 
hunger and no more, as any particles, however 
minute, if allowed to fall to the bottom will rapidly 
decompose and foul the water, seriously affecting 
the health of the fry, as the fragments are too 
small to be detected and removed. The bulb syr- 
inge here again comes into use. Drawing into it a 
small quantity of the pulp, the operator proceeds 
to the uppermost of the compartments of the 
nursery or hatching-trays and carefully drops a 
single drop into the water ; the minute fragments 
of meat are at once seized by the fry, and when 
they have entirely disappeared, another drop is 
administered ; thus in minute quantities is the 
minutely divided food given, and when the occu- 
pants of one compartment are .satiated, the same 
process is repeated with the next. The meat being 
readily digestible, the young should, from the 
time of the absorption of the sac to the period at 
which they are turned into the pond, be fed twice 
a day. As may be seen, the care of fifty thou- 
sand young trout is no child' s play. It has been 
stated that any boy of fourteen years, of ordinary 
capacity, is capable of taking entire charge of the 
young fishes ; but we have never as yet met with 
one we would be willing to trust. Not only man- 
ual labor, but skill and, above all, patience are 
required. The temptation to hurry over the work, 

5* 



106 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

especially in a damp, cold hatching-house, is too 
great for it to "be trusted to any but faithful and 
well-tried operators. The insufficient chopping of 
the meat, the rubbing instead of washing of the 
pulp through the sieve, or the throwing of it in too 
large quantities into the troughs or trays would 
be attended with severe loss. Like photography, 
fish culture is composed of numerous operations, 
the improper performance of any one of which will 
insure failure in the end. We speak that we 
do know, and testify that we have seen. 

The period at which the young fishes are to be 
removed from the hatching-house varies according 
to circumstances. If they are intended for stock- 
ing a stream amply provided with insects, their 
natural food, they may be turned loose as soon 
as they have learned to feed, say two weeks after 
the absorption of the sac ; but if for ponds, it is 
well to keep them some six weeks longer. During 
our first experiments in fish culture, we, follow- 
ing the advice of others, retained them in the 
troughs for six months, but a number escaping 
into a pond showed by their rapid growth that 
fresh air and exercise were equally beneficial to 
fishes as to other animals. Though abundantly 
supplied with food, the fishes retained in the troughs 
were at the end of six months less than half the 
size of their brethren in the pond. If turned out 



CARE OF YOUNG IN HATCHING-HOUSE. 107 

too soon, they seem not to have acquired sufficient 
strength to earn their own living ; if too late, they 
are stunted in their growth — the happy medium, 
as "before mentioned, is about two months. After 
the first few days of feeding, the gravel should be 
carefully but thoroughly washed. Turn on as 
strong a current of water as the fishes can bear, 
and gently place the hand in the water at the 
upper part of the topmost compartment of the 
nursery -trough. The fishes will crowd downward 
toward the screen. Slowly stir the gravel with the 
hand, avoiding all sudden motions, until all dirt 
is carried downward ; then place the hand in the 
lower part, when the fishes will ascend upon the 
portion cleaned, and repeat the operation. If the 
dirt is not carried through the screens, it may be 
rubbed through ; any large pieces, which will 
sometimes find their way into the troughs spite of 
all care, may be removed with the bulb syringe. 
This tedious but important process should be re- 
peated at least as often as every third day. If the 
trays be used, the fish may be drawn out by 
removing the cork, and replaced after thoroughly 
washing the tray. 

Sometimes, as has more than once happened to 
us, in spite of all our care, a sudden epidemic 
will break out among the fry in the troughs. 
They may all appear in the evening perfectly 



108 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

healthy, yet in the morning the dividing screens 
between the compartments are found clogged with 
the dead and dying. Unless the cause of this can 
be immediately traced, at once remove the fry to 
the pond, and then investigate the matter at your 
leisure, and guard against a similar misfortune (if 
discovered) in future. Better a crop of stunted 
fishes than no crop. There are many as yet un- 
known causes which result in the death of young 
fishes ; and the fish culturist, after years of experi- 
ence, may find himself at his wit' s end to explain the 
cause of a sudden mortality. We have all much 
to learn. The science (for science it is), is yet but 
in its infancy ; and he who declares that he knows 
all about fishes and fish culture must be classed 
with him who boasts that he can by his nostrums 
cure all ills that flesh is heir to. The good of self, 
and not of the fish-raising community, is too much 
sought. Already is the progress of fish culture 
impeded by the registration of a number of pat- 
ents, many of which are of a most ridiculous char- 
acter. Give and take should be our motto ; and 
were the example of Mr. Ainsworth * followed by 
all, our progress toward perfection would be much 
more rapid. "We have ourselves made more than 
one invention upon which a patent might have 

* Vide bis letter, page 19. 



CARE OP YOUNG IN HATCHING-HOUSE. 109 

been obtained, bnt from principle, doing as we 
would be done by, have presented them to the 
public. The inventor of an article like the Collins 
spawning race may be pardoned for obtaining a 
patent, but patent charred troughs, gauze spawn- 
carriers, and like trifles, are simply ridiculous ; 
and it is doubtful if any have as yet realized suffi- 
cient from the sale of " rights " to pay the expense 
incurred in filing their caveats. We are pleased 
to see that much more cordiality and friendship 
now exists between the brethren of the spawning 
race than formerly. The days when visitors to 
Troutdale concealed the fact that they were them- 
selyes engaged in fish culture, and even accepted 
its hospitality under assumed names, fearing in 
their ignorance that were the truth known they 
would be unable to gain desired information, have 
happily passed away ; and with few exceptions a 
pleasant acquaintance, if not personal friendship, 
exists, as it should between all American fish cul- 
turists. The formation of the American Piscicul- 
tural Association, under the presidency of our 
friend and pupil, Rev. W. Clift, has done much 
toward assisting in this direction. 



110 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 



CHAPTER IX. 

FIRST TEAR. 

The preparation of the pond for the reception of 
the young fry should be completed during the 
previous autumn. Our first spawn are always 
taken about November 1st, hatching about De- 
cember 10th ; the absorption of the sac is con- 
cluded February 1st, and they are ready for the 
pond April 1st. Our first pond is prepared for. the 
coming crop by removing that of the previous 
year ; this is done by drawing down the water as 
far as possible, mowing with a sharp scythe the 
water-plants, with which the bottom is thickly cov- 
ered, and raking them out. It is stated by theo- 
retical pisciculturists that on opening the gate and 
removing the screen at the lower end of the pond, 
the fishes will pass down into the next, but in 
practice the reverse is the case ; the fishes from 
the lower pond will ascend, but not a single one 
will descend, the tendency of the fishes being up 
stream instead of down stream. They must there- 
fore be removed with a net ; and as many of the 
fishes are very small, the best material for the 



FIRST YEAR. Ill 

purpose is common mosquito netting. Of this we 
use the odds and ends which have done duty 
during the previous season in covering our paint- 
ings, mirrors, and chandeliers. These are sewn 
together, forming a net about two and a half 
feet deep and three feet wider than our pond ; a 
well- weighted lead-line is attached to the bottom, 
and a few wooden floats sewn to the top ; at each 
end a stick or brail is tacked, and the net is ready 
for use. The net is dropped into the water at the 
lower end of the pond, and, holding the brails per- 
pendicularly, is slowly moved by two men, one on 
each side, toward the inlet. The object of mowing 
the ponds is now apparent ; were the weeds not 
removed, the lead-line would be held up by them, 
and the fishes allowed to escape beneath. When 
the inlet of the pond is reached, the net is suddenly 
raised from a perpendicular to a horizontal posi- 
tion, and in this manner carried to the second 
pond and its contents emptied. This process is re- 
peated again and again until every fish is removed. 
The trout is a sad cannibal, as a writer truly re- 
marks {Harpers' Weekly, June 13, 1868). Dog, it 
is said, will not eat dog ; but, when other food was 
wanting, we have seen in our hatching-troughs a 
trout of one and a half inches in length seize and 
devour his brother of one inch ; what, therefore, 
would be the result if a (comparative) monster of 



112 



PEACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 



five inches in length was allowed free quarters 
among our youngsters % 

By removing the last year's fishes thus early, we 
find in April that not only have the plants again 
grown, covering the bottom with a green carpet, 
but the microscope reveals every leaf and twig cov- 
ered with larvae and minute insects. Many of 
these are they whose attacks were so much feared 
in the hatching-house ; but the danger from them 
has passed, and the danger to them, which we care 
not to prevent, will soon commence. These are 
the proper food of the troutlet, and the greater their 
number in the pond, the greater will be our suc- 
cess. For removing fishes from the nursery, we use 
a net with a frame of the shape represented in Fig. ■ 
24. The bottom (A) being equal in width to the 




Fig. 24. 



width of our nursery- troughs, and the height twice 
their depth. With this the entire contents of a 
compartment may be removed at once, emptied 
with care into a basin of water, and transferred to 
the pond, where they at once dart rapidly through 
the water, apparently delighted with their new 
quarters. 



FIRST YEAR. 113 

The future growth of the fish depends much 
upon the supply of food given during the first 
year. Should the supply for the ponds at any 
time be scant, preference should be given to the 
youngest fishes. One good meal per diem will be 
all that is required, but should that be omitted, the 
proprietor suffers. The trout will have food, and 
if no other is afforded, it is obtained at the expense 
of the life of some weaker brother, who thus suf- 
fers for sins not his own. No trout will starve 
while others of one-third less dimensions are to be 
found in the same pond. 

The heart or kidney used as food should for 
some time still be sifted, though a sieve may be 
used of larger mesh, and at the end of six months 
entirely abandoned. If it is possible, however, it 
may be replaced by roe of fishes, which is perhaps 
at this stage better, though somewhat difficult to 
obtain. When used it should be rubbed under 
water between the hands, that the investing mem- 
brane be broken up and the eggs thoroughly sep- 
arated. 

As the weather becomes warmer, maggots should 
be fed, these most disgusting, but to the fish cul- 
turist most valuable, creatures being the nearest 
approach to the natural food of the trout that can 
be obtained. Several methods have been devised 
for procuring them. In one, a box is constructed, 



114 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

three feet high and two feet square ; in the bottom 
is placed a drawer, about four inches deep, and 
above this a strong wire grating, the wires being 
about an inch apart. Numerous holes, one-half 
inch in diameter, are bored in the sides above the 
drawer, and the whole is surmounted by a cover. 
In this, above the grating, any offal is thrown. 
The maggots on attaining their full size drop 
through the grating to the drawer beneath, which 
can at any time be removed and its contents emptied 
into the pond. This apparatus has been chris- 
tened, by a facetious visitor, the Maggotometer.* 

But the emptying of the drawer is by no means 
a pleasant task, and the old-fashioned method of 
suspending offal from a wire directly over the 
pond, thus allowing the maggots to drop, as it 
were, directly into the mouths of the fishes, is per- 
haps preferable. But to this there are many ob- 
jections. A piece of rotten meat covered with 
myriads of crawling maggots is by no means an 
attractive object. The " maggotometer " may be 
placed at some distance, that the odor may not 
affect the nostrils of visitors, but the suspended 
piece must be directly over the ponds. Again, 
dogs will make violent efforts to obtain the, to 

* This word is not philologically correct, but as the term gasom- 
eter is universally applied to an apparatus for holding and distrib- 
uting gas, it may not be deemed inappropriate. 



FIRST YEAR. 115 

them, tempting morsel, and disturbance of the 
ponds at least will take place. Most of these evils 
can "be avoided by placing over the offal a nail- 
keg, upside down ; through a hole in the inverted 
bottom passes a strong wire, hooked at each ex- 
tremity ; on one end is placed the offal, the other 
hooks upon a wire supported by posts and pass- 
ing over the pond ; a few half-inch holes are bored 
in the sides to afford easy access to the flies. By 
this arrangement not only is the offal protected, 
but, being shaded, it does not dry up as speedily 
as when exposed to the direct rays of the sun. It 
is out of sight, and the odor is, to say the least, 
greatly diminished. The importance of this vari- 
ety of food can not be over-estimated. It is the 
nearest approach which we can obtain to the in- 
sects which form so great a part of the food of 
trout in streams, and even if some inconvenience 
to the eyes and nostrils is occasioned by it, must 
be in some way supplied. During one season, 
disgusted by the odor, we depended upon an in- 
creased supply of meat as food for our young 
trout, omitting entirely the maggots ; but the small 
size attained by the fishes during the year, less 
than half that of the preceding, when less meat 
and more maggots were fed, warned us not to 
repeat the experiment. 
The supply of water should be carefully regu- 



116 PEACTICAL TE0UT CTTLTUKE. 

lated. If too much current is given through the 
pond the weaker fishes will "be carried against the 
lower screen, their gill-covers closed "by the press- 
ure of the water, and death soon ensue. If too 
little is afforded, they may die from want of suffi- 
cient oxygen. The plants previously mentioned 
here again perform good service — in oxygenating 
the water, a less current "being allowable in a pond 
whose bottom is completely covered with aquatic 
vegetation than in one in which the bottom is bare. 
It is well that a constant watch be kept over the 
pond during the first day after the transfer of the 
fry, and the current regulated by observation. 
No rule can be given on this point ; practice and 
observation can alone suffice. 

As the interstices of the fish screen must, of 
course, be very small, they will readily become 
clogged with dirt, which will, spite of all care, 
find its way into the water. Summer and win- 
ter, every high wind will blow into the pond a 
quantity of straws, leaves, and other rubbish 
which, if allowed to accumulate upon the fish 
screen, would soon entirely close it, damming the 
current, and causing an overflow. To prevent this, 
the leaf screens mentioned on page 38 must be 
placed above the fish screens, and if much trash 
finds its way into the pond, two and sometimes three 
of these will be required. To clean these, raise 



FIKST TEAK. 117 

them carefully out of their grooves, and by slightly 
tapping them against the sides of the sluice-gate 
all dirt will fall off. If they are strongly made, 
as they should "be, and are not hammered with 
violence, they will last for years ; but for the iirst 
six months at least the fish screen must not be 
raised. The larger fragments are to be picked off 
from it by hand, and a common scrubbing-brush, 
attached to a handle about two feet long, will 
either rub through the remainder of the dirt or 
collect it together so that it can be readily removed 
with the hands. As previously mentioned, trout 
in ponds always seek to ascend, and the removal 
of the fish screen, though but for a moment, is the 
signal of advance to the fishes of a lower pond. 
Should any larger fishes be seen in the pond in 
which the youngest are kept, they must be at 
once removed, even if it is necessary to kill them 
in so doing. The number of three month's old 
fishes which can be eaten in a short time by a trout 
of the previous year is enormous. Copper wire 
only should be used for the fish screens, as iron, 
however well painted, will rust out in a few months, 
leaving gaps through which the older fishes can as- 
cend. Twice a day, morning and evening, should 
the screens be examined and thoroughly cleaned, 
and duplicates should always be on hand to replace 
them in case of accident. 



118 PEACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

At this period are the attacks of "birds, both 
wild and tame, to "be especially guarded against. 
We have taken eighty-five young trout from the 
stomach of a tame duck shot on our ponds, and 
the number which would have been swallowed 
had she been left unmolested would undoubtedly 
have been much greater. It is well for fish culturr 
ists to keep an eye upon the aquatic poultry owned 
by their neighbors. The kingfisher is a perma- 
nent nuisance, and the great fish-hawk, during the 
spring and early summer, is an epicure whose 
fastidious taste is only to be satisfied by the larg- 
est and nnest trout in your ponds. A well-loaded 
gun should be always kept in readiness in sbme 
convenient place for the accommodation of these 
visitors. They may sometimes be trapped in the 
following manner : Near the ponds erect some 
poles about twenty feet in height, and on these set 
a steel-trap, securely fastened to the top of the 
pole. As is well known, it is the habit of both 
the fish-hawk and kingfisher to rest upon the 
tops of dead trees — for which the poles are a good 
substitute. On alighting, the trap is sprung and 
the bird caught. No bait is required. In remov- 
ing the fish-hawks from the traps it is well to 
throw over them an old coat or blanket, as they 
are capable of inflicting severe wounds with both 
claws and bill. The night-heron is decidedly the 



FIRST YEAE. 119 

worst enemy of the fishes, and we are sorry to 
say that no means for his capture or destruction 
have as yet been devised. Flying at night and, 
like the owl, having the gift of nocturnal vision, 
he is enabled to visit the pond with impunity ; 
and being to a certain extent gregarious, will 
return, bringing with him numbers of his fellows. 
Walking in darkness, they are comparatively safe 
from the gun, and rarely alighting upon trees, can 
not be captured in the pole traps. Their pres- 
ence is only known by their peculiar foot-prints, 
and a diminution in the number of fishes in the 
ponds. Of quadrupeds, the evils caused by the 
muskrat have been mentioned (page 36), and the 
means by which damage from them may be pre- 
vented, noted. 

The otter has fortunately disappeared before 
advancing civilization ; his presence on a fish farm 
would result in the disappearance of the entire 
stock ; but his cousin, the mink, still remains, and 
has more than once caused serious loss. If fishes 
are found dead with a large gash, sometimes 
lengthways and sometimes across the throat, it is 
a sure sign that a visit has been paid by a mink. 
A vigorous system of trapping by an expert is the 
only remedy, and one of the murdered trout is 
the best bait that can be obtained. Water snakes 
are particularly fond of trout, and have, during 



120 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

the last year, "been very abundant at Troutdale. 
We keep for their accommodation a large spear 
with six well- sharpened prongs. When alarmed, 
the snake hides himself in the weeds at the bot- 
tom of the pond, and can be frequently speared 
and killed. It may be well here to state that none 
of onr northern water snakes are venomous, 
though the deadly moccasin of the south is 
aquatic. Craw-fishes, it is said, cause serious in- 
jury by burrowing in the banks, but though these 
Crustacea abound in our locality, we have seen no 
proofs of this. The French writers denounce frogs 
as eaters of the young fry. This may be true of 
French frogs, but we know from experiment that 
ours are innocent of any such propensity. 

But the enemy most to be dreaded is man, and * 
will be until our legislators and the public look 
with less leniency upon fish- stealing. A large pro- 
portion of the trout offered for sale in the New 
York markets bear upon them the marks of the 
silken gill nets, with which they were illegally 
taken ; and a proposed law for the protection of 
private fish ponds, making their robbery a felony 
in lieu of a trespass, was recently rejected in the 
Legislature of a neighboring State by an almost 
unanimous vote. The burglar alarm telegraph 
might prove valuable, though we have never heard 
of its having been applied to this purpose. 



FIEST YEAK. 121 

The amount of food required varies ; atmospheric 
changes appear to affect greatly the appetites of the 
young fishes, and we have found even a difference 
in the readiness in which food is taken at different 
hours of the day. In summer they, like wild trout, 
feed best either immediately after sunrise or a short 
time before sunset, and even at these hours it some- 
times happens that they appear to have lost all 
relish for food. The fact we know — the " why " is 
beyond our knowledge. As an average, fifty thou- 
sand young will require when six months old, and 
well supplied with maggots, about a pound of 
chopped heart thrice weekly, though the amount 
varies greatly. The practiced fish culturist can 
see at a glance when his fishes have had enough. 
Over-feeding is to be avoided, as it tends to inter- 
fere with the breeding powers of the trout. 

A case in point came to our knowledge during 
the past year. A wealthy gentleman of a neigh- 
boring State constructed a well-appointed fish 
farm, with well-stocked ponds. To his surprise 
during the spawning season but few eggs could be 
obtained, and but a small percentage of these could 
be impregnated. We were consulted in regard to 
the matter, and our first look at his fishes showed 
us plainly the cause of the trouble. The fishes 
were enormous, the bodies greatly swelled, the 
whole cavity of the abdomen being filled with lay- 

6 



122 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

ers of fat. It appeared that the proprietor had for 
over a year fed them twice a day all they could 
eat, and the result was, as might be expected, 
barren and unhealthy fishes. Commence feeding 
always at the upper end of the pond, that the un- 
eaten fragments may be carried downward toward 
the fishes in the lower portion. Of course as the 
fishes increase in size, the size of the fragments of 
meat fed them may be proportionately increased ; 
but in no case should they be so large but that they 
can readily pass through the fish-screen at the 
lower end of the ponds. From neglect of this we 
have seen many screens clogged up with a mass of 
half -putrid meat, disgusting to the touch and diffi- 
cult to remove. 



SECOND AND THIRD YEAES. 123 



CHAPTER X. 

SECOND AND THIRD YEARS. 

The sojourn of the troutlet in the first pond is 
but short ; the l£ist of our crop are generally placed 
in it about April 15th, and by November it is im- 
portant that they should be removed, that the 
aquatic plants may grow and the insects be pro- 
vided for the next year's crop. The method of 
removing them to the second pond has been men- 
tioned. They have now passed their babyhood 
and require more food, their growth is extremely 
rapid, and they are much more able to take care 
of themselves ; and again we meet with the food 
question. Food they must have, and in full quan- 
tity ; and what shall that food be % It must be 
appropriate, cheap, and readily obtained. Curd 
has, of course, been used ; we have tried it, and 
proved it, in our case at least, to be not only not 
suitable, but absolutely poisonous. Our losses 
were at first very great, fifteen pounds of dead 
fishes per diem being not unfrequently picked from 
the bottom or screens of our pond. For a long 
time we attributed this excessive mortality to other 
causes ; at length the truth dawned upon us ; we 



124 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTUEE. 

changed the food and the deaths ceased. Up to 
the period of changing the fishes to the second 
pond heart, kidney, or maggots had been nsed, 
but these are too expensive to be longer continued, 
and are replaced by the lungs, or lights as they are 
most commonly called, of calves, oxen, and sheep. 
These can be obtained at a nominal price from 
butchers, except in towns where the German ele- 
ment abounds, where, sometimes, a high price is 
demanded for them, as they enter largely into a 
Teutonic sausage, in great demand by the frequent- 
ers of free lunches. The lights are prepared for 
fish food by passing them through a sausage-cutter. 
The American Chopper, which has succeeded so 
admirably in cutting hearts or kidneys, now proves 
utterly useless in dividing lights, and even some 
varieties of sausage-grinders fail entirely. The only 
kind which we have found to do the work well is 
that in which the knives are stationary, and the 
meat forced against them by the pegs on the cylin- 
der ; those with knives upon the cylinder do not 
cut well. 

"We have erected near our spring a meat-house 
with an overshot water-wheel attached, by which 
all our cutting machinery is run, a luxury which 
any one who has turned the handle of a sausage- 
cutter while fifty pounds of lights are passing 
through can readily appreciate. For the second 



SECOND AND THIRD YEARS. 125 

pond it is well to pass the "chop" through the 
machine a second time. The lights floating npon 
the surface of the water, any uneaten pieces float 
away instead of falling to the bottom and contam- 
inating the water by their decomposition, while the 
somersaults turned by the fishes in their efforts to 
obtain them is a sight which, after over four years 
of daily occurrence, is still as interesting and amus- 
ing in our eyes as when first we beheld it. Since 
our stock of fishes attained its present size, we have 
never been able to obtain as large a supply of food 
as we would desire ; yet we find that our stock- 
fishes, weighing in the aggregate about a ton (2,000 
pounds), thrive upon fifty pounds a week, fed them 
in equal portions on alternate days. Our loss by 
deaths has been reduced to almost a minimum, not 
fifty fishes having died during the past year. 

Yet other and perhaps more appropriate food 
can be obtained in other and more favored locali- 
ties. The killey fishes, which abound upon the 
shores of Long Island, answer this purpose admir- 
ably, being passed through the ordeal of the chop- 
per before being fed to the smaller trout. Upon 
the Connecticut shore any quantity of the intes- 
tines of fishes may be procured, which are equally 
valuable. What is wanted is animal food; and 
the best which can be cheaply obtained should in all 
cases be used ; and upon its cheapness will greatly 



126 . PRACTICAL TEOUT CULTUEE. 

depend the profit of the business. Trout fed for 
four years upon liver or heart, and then sold at 
one dollar per pound would certainly add nothing 
to the pocket of the breeder ; and whether trout 
► can be raised with profit for market is as yet an 
unsolved question. If eggs or fry could be sold at 
even one-half their present market value, it would 
be the height of folly to dispose of the parent fishes 
at even their present high market value ; it would 
be killing the goose which lays the golden egg. A 
female trout of one pound weight will afford one 
thousand spawn, for which eight dollars can be 
readily obtained ; and, as far as we are aware, all 
the pecuniary benefits of private fish-farms have, 
in this country at least, been derived mostly from 
the sale of spawn and young fry. 

Many of our trout spawn at the end of their 
second year, but this is not always the case. As far 
as can be ascertained about two-fifths is the aver- 
age ; the spawn from these is frequently much 
larger than that obtained from older fishes. 

The diseases to which pond trout are liable are 
but few, and these mostly result from ignorance or 
inattention on the part of the proprietor. A fun- 
goid growth is often seen upon fishes who, by 
fighting or accident, have become wounded. This 
growth appears first upon the wound,' and, spread- 
ing rapidly, soon reaches the gills, when death soon 



SECOND AND THIRD YEAES. 127 

takes place from obstruction of respiration. This, 
however, occurs only in wounded fishes, though 
sometimes the wound is scarcely perceptible. Fe- 
male fishes frequently die during the spawning sea- 
son from disease of the ovary, causing the eggs to 
increase greatly in size. We have seen them at 
least one inch in diameter; the pressure of this 
enormously distended mass upon the intestines 
causes inflammation, resulting in death. This most 
frequently occurs in females who have been re- 
moved from other waters. Should the supply of 
water be insufficient, of course the fishes will die. 
Great loss took place from this cause at Williams- 
port, Pennsylvania, a few years since, nearly the 
entire stock having been destroyed. Over-feeding 
in fish, as in mammals, renders them peculiarly 
liable to disease. It is the experience of almost 
every fish-farmer that his percentage of loss is al- 
ways in the inverse ratio to his knowledge, care, 
and skill. The ponds will not run themselves, 
but must be carefully attended to, and any neglect 
on the part of the proprietor is sure to be followed 
by disaster and loss. 

The size which trout will attain in a given time 
varies even with the most careful attention to their 
food. Once a dwarf always a dwarf, is the invari- 
able rule. We have raised fishes in one year to 
the length of six inches, while in the same period 



128 PRACTICAL TEOUT CULTURE. 

of time others in the same pond had not attained 
over one-third this size, and, strange to say, the 
smaller were almost invariably males. The aver- 
age size is perhaps that represented on the opposite 
page (Fig. 25). We have heard of half-pounders 
at the age of one year, but have never seen them. 
It may be that some of our fish-raising brethren 
will think that the sizes represented in our figure 
are too small, but let them average the contents of 
a pond containing say ten thousand, and we think 
that they will agree with us in our estimate ; and 
should we even be found to have erred in this 
respect, we would rather under than over-rate. 
Fish stories are proverbial, and we have seen pub- 
lished accounts of fish-farms which plainly showed 
that these stories were not confined to wild fishes. 
Too frequently heavy discount must be allowed on 
stories of fishes of wondrous size or in marvelous 
numbers ; and the visitor to a fish-farm of which 
glowing accounts have been published, is too often 
sadly disappointed at the great discrepancy be- 
tween the published account and the reality. 



130 PEACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 



CHAPTER XI. 

TRANSPORTATION OF SPAWN AND FISHES. 

We now reach a point of the greatest import- 
ance in regard to the pecuniary success of fish cul- 
ture. In a previous chapter we have mentioned 
that at present it is to his sales of impregnated 
spawn and young fishes that the fish-farmer must 
look for remuneration for his expenses in time, 
labor, and invested capital. That he should be 
enabled to transport these long distances with 
ease and safety is a point of vital importance. 
In our experience we have found that customers 
are rarely willing to take upon themselves the 
risks of transportation, and with few exceptions 
the contract is made with the proviso that the 
spawn or fishes shall be delivered in good condi- 
tion. It has been stated by many foreign experi- 
menters, that if kept at the temperature of 32° 
the progress of development of the embryo is ar- 
rested though the vital principle is not destroyed, 
and that upon the temperature being slowly and 
carefully elevated to about 40° the incubation will 
again proceed. Recent experiment, however, has 
somewhat modified this theory, and the compara- 



TRANSPORTATION OF SPAWN AND FISHES. 131 

tive failure of the early attempts to transport the 
spawn of salmon and tront to Australia has shown 
that at least the period of suspension can not be in- 
definitely prolonged. We have found that even a 
few hours' freezing is decidedly injurious if not 
fatal to the embryo. The eggs may hatch, but 
the young most frequently will be found weak 
and puny, and will rarely survive until the ab- 
sorption of the sac is completed. To prevent 
freezing is one of the important points in spawn 
transportation. Sudden changes of temperature 
must be provided against. The season during 
which the spawn are shipped is, in our latitude, 
the coldest in the year, and a change of temper- 
ature of 10°, much less than the difference between 
a warm railroad car and the external air, would 
be fatal. Moisture we have found absolutely es- 
sential, the accounts we have heard of dried 
spawn in the Canton markets notwithstanding; 
one hour in a dry, warm atmosphere being suffi- 
cient to destroy the vitality. Any one who has 
subjected spawn to microscopic examination will 
remember how quickly the embryo will cease to 
live unless the egg be kept constantly moist. 

It is rarely possible, even if the greatest care be 
exercised, that the spawn can survive even a jour- 
ney of twenty miles, until ten days after impreg- 
nation, and unless some special reason exists to 



132 



PEACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 



the contrary, the eye-specks should be well devel- 
oped before shipment. The proper time is from 
the twentieth to the thirtieth day, when the tem- 
perature of the water has been 50° 

If troughs have been used, the spawn should be 
first formed into little heaps with a feather or 
fine brush ; then taking the cribble (Fig. 26) in the 




Fig. 26. 

left hand the eggs are brushed upon it and trans- 
ported to the packing boxes, any spawn remaining 
on the gravel being picked up by the bulb syr- 
inge ; but if the trays have been employed, this 
tedious process is greatly simplified — the grilles 
need only be removed and their contents emptied 
into a large pan of water. In the latter case, the 
process of counting is greatly facilitated ; each 
rod of the grille holding, on an average, one 
hundred spawn, their number can be readily es- 
timated. We have been in the habit of allowing 
from five to ten per cent, additional, the amount 



TRANSPORTATION OF SPAWN AND FISHES. 133 

depending upon the distance to be traveled. The 
box in which the eggs are placed for shipment is 
of tin, of circular form, three inches in diameter, 
and the same in height, with a tight-fitting cover, 
the bottom being perforated with small holes. 
In the bottom of this box is placed a layer of fine 
moss, such as is found on rocks upon the bor- 
ders of streams in cool and moist localities ; this is 
prepared by thorough washing and careful pick- 
ing over, all dirt, such as sticks, fragments of 
leaves, and minute pebbles, being removed with 
care. The bottom of the box being covered to 
the depth of about half an inch with well- damp- 
ened moss, the eggs are placed upon it. They 
should be carefully spread with a soft brush. 
They may be allowed to touch and even press 
against each other, but should not be heaped one 
upon the other. When well arranged, cover these 
with another layer of moss, upon which spread an- 
other tier of spawn, and thus continue until the 
box is filled, pack it full, but not too full, only 
that the elasticity of the moss may keep the eggs 
from being jarred by any slight concussion. The 
whole is then sprinkled with water, and the cover 
tied on by a piece of twine. We have shipped 
hundreds of thousands of spawn in moss with per- 
fect success, yet it has been objected against this 
material that it frequently contains larva of insects 



134 



PEACTICAL TE0UT CULTURE. 



which may afterward give tremble in their new 
home. Boiling the moss will destroy these, "but 
wonld render the moss very liable to decomposi- 
tion. Sponge, thoroughly cleaned and cut in 
small pieces, has been nsed with success, and 
where moss could not be procured we have found 
it a good substitute. To prevent freezing and pre- 
serve an equable temperature nothing more is nec- 
essary than to place the box in a tin pail, and 




Fig. 27.— Spawn Packed fob Transportation. 
A, A, A, A, Moss ; B, B, B, Spawn ; 1, Spawn Box ; 2, 2, 2, Kettle ; 3, 3, 3, 3, Sawdust. 

thoroughly surround it with sawdust well packed, 
and all is done that can be done. We are aware 
of the existence of a patent spawn transporter, 
costing as many dollars as .the ordinary one does 
cents, but have not been able to find that it pre- 
sents sufficient advantages to compensate for the 
increased expense. 



TRANSPORTATION OF SPAWN AND FISHES. 135 

Great loss has occurred to spawn in transit from 
two directly opposite causes, viz. : carelessness 
and over care. "Do not let these freeze" marked 
upon the pail has resulted in its being placed in 
close proximity to a red hot stove, and the dents 
found in its sides, after consignment to the care of 
the Express Co., show how much attention is paid 
to the attached printed label, " Handle with great- 
est care." In all cases where large quantities of 
Spawn are to be transported, they should be sent 
under the care of a competent special messenger. 

On arriving at their place of destination the 
spawn should not be at once emptied into the 
trays or troughs, the sudden change of tempera- 
ture being too often attended with serious conse- 
quences. The kettle and sawdust being removed, 
the box should be reversed and allowed to remain 
for at least one hour in the water in which the 
spawn are to be placed, that they may gradually 
assume the proper temperature. The entire con- 
tents of the box is then to be emptied into a basin 
of clean water. Most of the moss may be picked 
off by hand, and the remainder can with care be 
floated off by pouring in water. If trays are em- 
ployed, it is not requisite that all the fine parti- 
cles be removed, but with the troughs perfect 
cleanliness is absolutely necessary. Then with 
the cribble or spoon the spawn may be placed 



136 PEAOTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

in the hatching apparatus. It is important that 
sufficient sawdust be placed around the box in 
which the spawn have been packed ; less than two 
inches should never be used, and even with this 
amount we have known the eggs to have become 
frozen during mid-winter. A thick covering of 
felt on the outside of the kettle has been suggested, 
and would perhaps answer well. 

But many are desirous of avoiding the trouble 
and responsibilities of hatching spawn, and it is 
required that the fishes be delivered sometimes at 
remote points. When very young fishes are de- 
sired, we have found the best age for transportation 
to be about fifty days after hatching. At this 
period the yolk sac has been nearly entirely ab- 
sorbed, its presence being only recognized by a 
slight protrusion of the abdomen. The fishes have 
not yet commenced to feed, and will stand a com- 
paratively long journey with but few changes of 
water. At this season (March and April), the 
weather is cool, and the capacity of the water for 
retaining air is much greater than when the tem- 
perature becomes more elevated. Water at the 
temperature of 50° will absorb about six cubic 
inches of air to the gallon, while at 212° none can 
be retained. It is therefore seen that the lower the 
temperature the greater the amount of air that will 
be contained in the water, and that during cool 




TRANSPORTATION OF SPAWN AND FISHES. 137 

weather the greatest success may be attained in 
transporting the fry. 

But larger fishes must sometimes be transported, 
and for this recourse must be had to a transit tank. 
The Troutdale Transit Tank (Fig. 28) was invented 




Fig. 28. 



by us some three years since, and has always, in 
competent hands, given perfect satisfaction. The 
can is constructed of heavy galvanized sheet iron ; 
to the outside is attached an air-pump, communi- 
cating by means of an india-rubber pipe with a 
tube leading to the bottom of the can, which ter- 
minates in a nose similar to that of a watering-pot 
•pierced with minute holes. By simply working 
the handle, air is driven in, and being divided into 
fine bubbles by the nose, completely aerates the 
water, restoring the oxygen consumed in respira- 
tion by the fishes. On the interior, about half way 
between the bottom and top, a ring of strong wire 
is soldered ; on this can be laid a perforated plate, 



138 PRACTICAL TEOUT CULTURE. 

dividing the can into two divisions, a matter of 
importance when fishes of different ages and can- 
nibalistic propensities are to be transported. 
Should the weather be warm, a tray with perfor- 
ated bottom is fitted to the top and filled with ice, 
the drip from which will keep the temperature 
sufficiently low. Around the top of the can are 
inserted windows, as they may be termed, of fine 
wire gauze. The whole is surrounded by a conical 
cover. The air-pump is attached to the sides of 
the can by thumb-screws, so that with the india- 
rubber tube it may be removed and packed inside 
on a return trip. We have been frequently obliged 
to leave home with fish by daybreak, in order to 
reach a distant point during the same day. To 
capture and count the fishes, sometimes amounting 
to many thousands, immediately prior to starting, 
would necessitate early rising, a luxury which we 
by no means enjoy. The windows of wire gauze 
are now of use. The fish are taken, counted, and 
placed in the tank over night, the air-pump is 
removed, and the can, with cover firmly attached, 
is sunk in swift-running water, which, passing 
through the windows, will keep the captives in 
good order. The only objection to these windows 
is that during transit over rough railroads the 
water will sometimes splash through them, causing 
too often profane remarks on the part of the bag- 



TRANSPORTATION OF SPAWN AND FISHES. 139 

gage-master or express agent, and rendering the 
administration of another "quarter" necessary. 
It is therefore well in large establishments to have 
a special can for keeping the fishes over night. 

If several cans are used at once but one air- 
pump is necessary, as the india-rubber tube can 
be removed from one can and slipped on another. 
The pump should be made in the best manner and 
with but one valve, as every additional valve will 
double the chance of getting out of order — a se- 
rious matter when the lives of hundreds of fishes 
are involved. Our first attempt at transporting 
large fish in this tank was in December, 1869. "We 
desired to exhibit at the Show of the New York 
Poultry Society a series of our finest fishes. Sev- 
enty-one were selected, and though sixteen hours 
elapsed before they could be placed in the Society's 
tanks, but one fish died upon the passage, and 
this was previously diseased. But one change of 
water was made, and this was necessitated by the 
upsetting of the can and the spilling of the fishes 
in the bottom of the express wagon. Among the 
fishes were ten averaging a pound and a half each. 
We were honored by the Society with a bronze 
medal for this invention.* ; 

* We also received the great gold medal of the Society, value 
eighty dollars, for our display illustrative of the science of fish 
culture. 



140 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 

Even during the hottest weather, if the ice-pan 
is kept well supplied, there is rarely need of 
changing the water oftener than once in twelve 
hours ; often changing is injurious to the fishes. 
In the present age of rapid transit, every hour may 
bring the traveler to water of entirely different 
qualities. Rain-water should never be used, ex- 
cept in a case of emergency. Fishes will live, and 
sometimes thrive, in waters of entirely different 
chemical character from those in which they were 
born and bred ; but when confined in a can are 
peculiarly susceptible to any change in the quality 
of the element. 

No fear need be felt that the carbonic acid elim- 
inated in respiration by the fishes will injure them. 
Trout are frequently found in waters saturated 
with this, to man ? noxious gas ; and, in fact, there 
are few of our limestone springs which are not in 
this condition. 

We have made some experiments on the preser- 
vation of living fishes in air-tight tanks in which a 
large amount of air had been compressed. •The 
results have, thus far, not been in all cases favor- 
able ; yet should this succeed, and we have not as 
yet given up hopes of success, living fishes may 
be shipped by express as freight or ordinary bag- 
gage. "We hope that if any one of our readers 
should succeed in this method he will not at once 



TRANSPORTATION OF SPAWN AND FISHES. 141 

secure it by letters-patent, as is too much the cus- 
tom of late. Neither our transit-tank, nor, in fact, 
any apparatus invented by us, is secured to the 
inventor, and we will be most happy to hear of 
their use and success in the hands of our piscicul- 
tural brethren. 



142 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTUEE. 



CHAPTER XII. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FISH CULTURE. 

For the convenience of those who wish to know 
what has been written upon the subject, we append 
a list of the works on fish culture now in our 
library. We are aware that the list is not com- 
plete, but believe that it contains all works upon 
the subject which can be readily obtained. Many 
are more curious than useful, having been written 
by individuals having no practical knowledge of 
the subject. In the arrangement the alphabetical 
order has been observed, for, as Dibdin remarks, 
we may differ in our ideas of arrangement, but all 
know our alphabet. 

Agassiz, vide Vogt. 

Ashworth, E. & F. On the Propagation of Salmon and other 

Fish. 12mo. Stockport and London, 1859. 
Bertram, J. G. The Harvest of the Sea. 8vo. London, 1869. 
Blanchard, E. Les Poissons des eaux douces de la France. 8vo. . 

Paris, 1866. Contains an interesting section on fish culture. 
Bocchius, G. A Treatise on the Management of Fish in Rivers 

and Streams. 8vo. London, 1848. 
Btjckxand, Frank. Fish-Hatching. 12mo. London, 1863. 
Carbonnier, P. Guide practique du Pisciculture. 12mo. Paris, 

1861 



BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FISH CULTURE. 143 

. Coste, M. Instructions practique sur ia Pisciculture. 2d edition. 

12mo. Paris, 1852. 
Coste, M. Voyage d'exploration sur la littoral de la France et 

Italic 4to. Paris, 1861. 
Cotjmes. Rapport sur la Pisciculture et la pSche fluviales en 

Angleterre en Ecosse et en Ireland. 4to. Strasbourg, 1863. 
Davy, Sir H. Salmonia ; or, Days of Salmon-Fishing. 2d edition. 

12mo. London, 1829. Contains (page 40) an account of Ja- 

cobi's experiments. 
Francis, F. Fish Culture. 2d edition. 12mo. London, 1865. 
Fry, W. H. Artificial Fish-Breeding. 12mo. New York, 1854. 
Garlick, T. A Treatise on the Artificial Production of Fish. 8vo. 

New York, 1852. Scarce. 
Green, Seth. Trout Culture. 12mo. Rochester, 1870. 
Haxo, Dr. Fecundation artificielle des oeufs de Poissons. 8vo. 

2d edition. Epinal, 1853. 
HuNiNOtrE. Notice historique sur l'etablissement de Pisciculture. 

4to. Strasbourg, 1862. 
Koi/rz, J. P. J. Traite de Pisciculture practique. 3d edition 12mo. 

Paris, 1866. 
Lamy, I. Neauveau elements de Pisciculture. 12mo. Paris et 

Chartres, 1866. 
Noel, E. Pisciculture, Pisciculteurs et Poissons. 12mo. Paris, 

1856. 
Norris, T. American Fish Culture. 12mo. Philadelphia. 1868. 
Peard, "W. Practical Water Farming. 16mo. Edinburg, 1866. 
Piscarius. The Artificial Production of Fish. 3d edition. 12mo. 

London, 1852. 
Remy, J. (Haxo, editeur). Guide de Pisciculture. 12mo. Paris, 

1854. 
Vogt, C. Embryologie des Salmones. 8vo, with Atlas folio. Neuf- 
; chatel, 1842. This work forms the first volume (all issued) 

of Agassiz's " Histoire Naturelle des Poissons de l'Europe 
i Centrale." 

J 



I 



